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Feb. 25, 2000
Health conference honors Mickey Pablo

by Ron Selden for Char-Koosta News

BILLINGS -- Diabetes, drug abuse, traditional medicines,
funding dilemmas, and dozens of other topics vied for
attention during last week's first regional Indian health
conference, held at the Sheraton Billings Hotel.

The "Enhancing Tribal Health and Wellness in the New
Millennium" conference, co-sponsored by the Montana-Wyoming
Tribal Leaders Council and the Montana-Wyoming Indian Health
Board, drew about 250 tribal leaders, health care providers
and other participants from around the region.

Organizers called the gathering a stunning success and a
warm-up for the National Indian Health Board's annual
conference, which is expected to bring about 1,200 people to
Billings in August.

High on the agenda were a number of hot-button topics,
including divestment of the state's recent tobacco
settlement, reauthorization of the 1976 federal Indian
Health Improvement Act, and the lack of treatment facilities
for tribal members addicted to methamphetamines and other
hard drugs.

The state's tobacco settlement, which could bring $922
million to Montana over the next 25 years, drew fire early
on in the conference, as tribal leaders decried the lack of
Indian involvement in deciding how the money should be
allocated.

The settlement, brokered by Montana Attorney General Joe
Mazurek, is part of a $206 billion national agreement
reached in late 1998 by states that sued a bloc of tobacco
companies over deceptive practices and smoking related
illnesses. Several Indian tribes from across the nation have
also filed a separate class action suit that is still
pending in the courts.

Dr. John Hauxwell, an Indian Health Service employee who
serves on Gov. Marc Racicot's tobacco advisory council, and
Jane Smilie, of the Montana Department of Public Health and
Human Services, said a high percentage of American Indians
still smoke, and if they quit, they're more likely than non
Indians to relapse and start smoking again.

The higher smoking rate, they said, also translates to
higher rates of smoking-related illnesses among Indians as
compared to the general population.

The 1999 Legislature, anticipating to receive about $67
million of settlement funds during the current biennium,
allocated $48 million of the money to the state's general
fund. About $8 million was earmarked for the state's new
Children's Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIPS, $7
million was put toward prevention programs, $1.6 million was
given to a new National Guard youth program, and the
remaining $2 million was put into other comprehensive
insurance programs.

Smilie said her department is using the advisory council to determine how
the prevention money should be spent, but tribal leaders contend they don't
have enough say in the process. In fact, said Chippewa-Cree Business
Committee member Jonathan Windy Boy, tribes should be getting at least seven
percent of the total settlement because that represents the approximate
number of Indians living within the state.

"There's not enough money here for tribes," said Ben Speaks Thunder of the
Chippewa-Cree Tribe. "We're not getting a fair shake here."

"Don't sit there and create programs for us," added Blackfeet Tribal
Business Council Secretary George Heavy Runner. "Give us the dollars and
we'll decide how to spend them. We're not one-size-fits-all."

The tobacco issue was also raised during a panel discussion on government
to-government relationships, where tribal officials noted that it's only in
rare instances that they're treated fairly by non-Indian agencies and their
leaders.

"We do not have time to play games," said Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Bill Old
Chief. "Our time has come and it's time for us to speak up."

"They are not going to hear us unless we speak together," said Dennis Big
Hair, a Crow leader and chairman of the tribal leaders council. "We should
be the ones who live in luxury on this continent... We have a lot of unmet
needs."

Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council member Kevin Howlett said to him, a
government-to-government relationship means that both parties respect the
"rights, dignity and sovereignty" of the other.

"These are not feel-good words," he said. "There are principles of
engagement. Every day of our lives our right to exist as Indian people is
challenged... We've got to create a vision. Tribal leaders have a
responsibility to create a vision for the ones who are to come."

Rep. Carol Juneau, a Browning Democrat and member of the Mandan-Hidatsa
Tribe, said native peoples have to expand their influence in the board room,
at the statehouse, and in the schools. They need to register to vote, go to
the polls, and get more involved in politics at all levels.

"If we don't register, if we don't vote, we take what we get," she said.

Tribal leaders said Indian clout must also be consolidated as Congress
begins to pick through President Clinton's 2001 budget request, which
includes hefty increases for an array of Indian programs. In the health
arena, the proposed budget envisions a 9.25 percent funding increase for the
Indian Health Service, an increase of about $34 billion over current levels.

While tribal officials welcome the proposed increases, they're also
concerned that IHS is reeling from tribes compacting and contracting so many
services that the agency formerly managed. As a result, IHS is proposing to
branch many programs out to urban and other off-reservation Indians,
creating a potential shortfall for reservations, speakers said.

Across the nation, said Billings area IHS associate director Pete Conway,
about 45 percent of the agency's former duties have been compacted. Another
30 percent has been contracted, he said, leaving the agency to provide
direct services to only about one-quarter of the clients it formally did.

"We're part of a big bureaucracy," Conway said. "I don't deny that... Don't
assume IHS knows all."

In Montana, only the Salish and Kootenai and the Chippewa-Cree have
compacted all IHS programs. Among other Montana tribes, the Fort Peck
Reservation still receives direct services, while the Northern Cheyenne and
others run some former IHS programs under contract. But tribes that compact
and contract say their administrative costs are not fully covered by IHS, a
problem that has been festering for years. If even more money is diverted
from reservations, they fear the shortfalls could worsen.

"We want these people to hear us," Big Hair said. "We want to make the
rules."

Another pressing issue in Indian Country these days is drug abuse,
conference speakers said. While many tribal members have successfully
escaped the grip of alcohol, health care providers said methamphetamines,
heroin, and other hard drugs are sweeping across Montana reservations.

According to Bonnie Pipe of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the problem got so
bad in Lame Deer in recent years that elementary school children were
running drugs and drug money for their parents, relatives and guardians.
There's also been a startling increase in the number of "crank" babies born
on reservations, as well as an increase in property crimes, violence and
overdoses.

Pipe and Dr. Kathy Masis, an IHS physician, said Montana tribes are not
prepared for the influx of hard-drug users that's flooding the health care
system across the state. Unless more money is allocated for prevention, law
enforcement, and treatment, the problems will continue to grow, they said.

"The meth problem is not really being dealt with," Pipe said. "People are
dying around us. People are getting hurt."

One main factor driving the reservation meth trade is the chance for quick
profit, Pipe explained.

"It's a real easy way to make money," she said. "Meth isn't just an Indian
issue, though. It's killing everybody."

Conference participants also discussed a variety of other related issues,
including actions to increase the number of Indians in medical fields.
Salish Kootenai College's nursing program was represented at the gathering,
as were a number of other training programs from around the region.

Tribal leaders at the conference also took time to remember the late Mickey
Pablo, chairman of the Salish-Kootenai Tribes.

Pablo, who died unexpectedly last August, received a standing ovation from
about 250 conference participants after he was credited for helping organize
Montana tribes so they can now speak with a united voice. The
Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, where Pablo had also served as
chairman, and the Montana-Wyoming Indian Health Board presented a piece of
Indian artwork and a plaque in his memory.

The award was accepted by Tribal Council member Kevin Howlett of Arlee.

Dennis Big Hair, current chairman of the leaders council, said he always
admired Pablo because he "got along with everyone in D.C.," and was so
effective in representing tribal interests in all arenas. Big Hair noted
that Pablo was a personal friend of many congressional leaders, and that he
never gave up, no matter the odds of winning.

"I learned a lot from him," Big Hair said.

"Mickey always paved the way," added Alvin Windy Boy, a Chippewa-Cree Tribal
Council member and chairman of the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Health Board.
Windy Boy said last week's statewide conference was in large part organized
because of Pablo's efforts.

In accepting the award on behalf of Pablo's family, Howlett said few people
realize how much tribal leaders sacrifice when they serve in office. Long
hours, frequent travel, and high levels of stress all take a toll on
families, he said, and Pablo was long known for both his steadfast
dedication to Indian issues, as well as his family.

But despite the sacrifices, Howlett said, tribal leaders are usually the
first to be criticized. He suggested that all tribal people try to be more
understanding of their leaders and of each other because a lack of tolerance
and patience will harm tribes and their causes.

Caleb Shields, former chairman of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux
Tribes, added that Pablo was the type of leader everyone could be proud of.
He also credited the Salish and Kootenai Tribes with pulling the leaders
council together and keeping it funded and staffed during its fledgling
start.
 
 

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