Trump, RFK Jr. Won't Neglect Native American Health

Imagine living in a community where your life expectancy is at least five years less than the national average.

Then, think about living there with preventable diseases menacingly ever-present. Those same diseases morph into life threatening ailments.  

Now think about residing in a community where your nearest hospital or clinic is outdated and falling apart.

To make matters even farse worse, there is no life-saving medical equipment.

Or how about living in a region of the country, where no maternity wards are found, and your mother or wife must travel 90 miles just to deliver a baby.

Ponder. There are places where dentists don’t fill cavities — they just pull teeth.

Imagine, where you live, standing in line at 6:00 in the morning in the freezing cold— covered in blankets to stay warm — just to see a doctor.

Imagine being stuck, if deaf, where you are only allocated one hearing aid.

Oh yes, and it's nowhere near being a device you could call "modern," forget about hi-tech.

Why?

Because of a lack of funding.

And imagine living in a community where your healthcare budget is chronically underfunded year-after-year.

For many Americans, the preceding seems unfathomable.

Make no mistake, for our friends and neighbors in Indian Country — this is their reality.

Again, it’s been said that a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members.

If this is the standard — then we have failed terribly.

For decades, presidential administrations on both sides of the aisle have ignored the needs of Native Americans and failed to provide them with basic health services.

And as a result, Indian Country has suffered.

Need any more proof?

Per capita spending within Indian Health Services lags far behind other government services. According to a US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Health Policy, IHS spends "$4,078 per capita, compared to $8,109 for Medicaid, $10,692 for the Veterans Health Administration, and $13,185 for Medicare."

The numbers don’t lie.

Native American women are dying during pregnancy at rates far higher than any other demographic, and infant mortality rates continue to rise.

But that’s not all.

American Indian and Alaska Natives have the highest suicide rates among adults while teen girls have experienced a rise in sadness and violence — resulting — sadly, in an increase in suicide ideation.

To put in bluntly, Indian Country is in crisis — and has been for a very long time.

But help is on the way, and with President Donald Trump’s bold appointment of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Indian Country will be ignored no more.

And it’s why the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) strongly endorsed Kennedy’s nomination — calling him, "the most qualified nominee there has ever been, from any Administration, to carry that mantle of responsibility.

"He has been a stalwart advocate for tribes, clearly understanding and respecting tribal sovereignty. We know he cares deeply about the health and wellness of Native American people."

And while Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are implementing necessary cost-cutting measures and eliminating unnecessary waste, fraud and abuse in government spending — they can also work with agency leaders and Secretaries and pave the way in creating a model that saves lives, too.

This includes exempting IHS from reductions in force and austerity measures because IHS is already woefully understaffed and underfunded and unable to meet the United States' treaty obligations to provide healthcare to tribal governments' citizens.

It also includes honoring and investing in culturally-informed traditional medicine and faith-based ceremonies centered in tribal languages and lifeways.

And importantly for national security, it includes investments in Native food security through indigenous foods like bison.

Making America Healthy Again starts with healthy foods and will be achieved through smart investments in technology and in rural communities being led by those communities — like tribes — rather than academics in coastal ivory towers.

The MAHA movement is about working smarter and with maximum impact. And unlike any HHS Secretary before him, Secretary Kennedy is prioritizing leadership and investments for Native American health with an all-of-the-above strategy including western and traditional medicine, behavioral health, and healthy foods.

Imagine living in a community where you have access to affordable, reliable healthcare that you can supplement with cultural healing practices.

Imagine having access to healthy local foods and your people being cancer free, where they no longer suffer from diabetes and the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality.

That is the Indian Country that President Trump and Secretary Kennedy want for Native Americans.

President Donald Trump’s commitment to Make America Healthy Again is more than a catchy slogan — it’s a call to arms. And Indian Health Services and Indian Country will be better off because of it.

From 2007-2010, Mark Vargas served as a civilian in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, traveling to Baghdad, Iraq, 14 times. Follow Mark on Twitter: @markavargas. Read Mark Vargas' Reports — Click Here Now.