Imagine your income got cut by about 60 percent. Could you feed your family and pay your bills? What would you do? Tribes and tribal members are about to find out as Washington turns dark, leaving a "small cadre to protect life and property" according to Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn. Everyone alive in the 1990s remembers that a federal shutdown seriously impacted the health and safety of tribal members across the nation, and today is shaping up to be equally as bad. Every tribe in the United States is suffering in the crossfire of the ongoing battle in Washington. Tribal governments, already pinched from budget cuts and the sequester are scrambling to fund operations for the (hopefully short) duration. National media may be having palpitations over park and monument closures, but people living on reservations may be without basic necessities like food, housing, and utilities. The Honorable Ruth Hopkins, Chief Judge, Spirit Lake, writes, “Since the BIA is running Spirit Lake's child services, this government shutdown is posing a serious danger to innocent Native children here who need their help most. There's one Native woman trying to hold it down but she's basically volunteering since the shutdown, and can only handle serious emergencies. I hope and pray no one is hurt or killed while greedy suits in DC argue over ideology.” The story is similar across Indian Country. Because of our Trust land status, economic development will feel the impact, especially the industries of tourism, gas and oil, timber, mining, and real estate.Get the Story:
Walt Lamar: Crisis Mismanagement: Shutdown Puts Indians in Deadly D.C. Crossfire (Indian Country Today 10/3) Related Stories:
Federal agencies outline contingency plans during shutdown (10/1)
NMAI in Washington and in New York closed due to shutdown (10/1)
Editorial: House Republicans rush to irresponsible shutdown (9/30)
Senate cuts off debate on spending bill after 21-hour speech (9/26)
Republicans looking for way to approve Keystone XL Pipeline (9/25)
Editorial: An embarrassing GOP campaign against health law (9/25)
Senate clashes with House on spending bill that affects IHCIA (9/24)
Mark Trahant: Republicans are willing to destroy IHS system (9/19)
Join the Conversation
