Native American Health Care Speech

Native American peoples have been an integral part of mankind's progressive development due to the contributions that they have made to the global society. They spearheaded conservation efforts due to their deep connection and respect for land. They also have a deep appreciation for children as they are the future and this fondness is commonplace around the world. Potatoes, beans, maize, melons, tomatoes, and sunflower seeds as some of the indigenous Native American traditional foods that that have become popular throughout the universe with different communities making staple meals out of them (Weatherford, 2012). In the United States, their humility and social nature saw them share their traditional meals with the early settlers including during the first thanksgiving. They have thus positively influenced the Thanksgiving holiday in America. They have also extensively enrolled and served in the military service and helped the country win numerous wars around the globe. The wars fought during the two World Wars and in other parts of the world like Vietnam, Korea, and Iraq have been won thanks to the contribution of the Native Americans. The Iroquois tribe of Native Americans had a system of governance where selective powers were granted to a centralized or federal government while the rest are given to the local states. This system was borrowed and adopted by the founding fathers in writing the country's Constitution. Native Americans also gave the world sign language and the use of hand signals to communicate with dumb or deaf people. They also introduced some iconic products to the world with examples being moccasins, tomahawks, tobacco, jackets, and pipe smoking among others. They have also contributed to the English grammar with original words like hammock, chipmunk, and mahogany. Numerous rivers, cities, towns, and other places are also given original Native names.

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Native Americans are a marginalized group of Americans when it comes to the accessibility and availability of healthcare services. One of the healthcare inequality that they deal with is the frequent misdiagnosis or wrong diagnosis that they get regarding their illnesses. Native Americans also deal with the healthcare challenge of lack of proper treatment to the various diseases that afflict them. The lack of treatment contributes to a high number of deaths among the Native Indians. This community is also faced by limited clinic hours in areas where they are densely populated. Health facilities within their localities operate for a certain duration with the wee hours and late hours not covered by the clinics operating where the Native Americans are concentrated. Their lands and settlement areas are disconnected from proper infrastructure and are far-flung, two factors that call for them to travel or seek transport in search of healthcare services. The healthcare inequality for Native Americans compared to the other communities residing in America is evident going by the available statistics. Native Americans comprise of the largest community in the United States that has high rates of obesity, sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse, and diabetes. The health insurance schemes available in the country do not cover most of them because they are excluded, they cannot afford the premiums, or they are illiterate which brings about ignorance concerning on the importance of medical cover. The Indian Health Services (IHS), which should deal with health issues pertinent to the Native American communities, is always underfunded and thus effectively incapacitated such that they cannot address the health concerns of the tribes. This population is also denied basic services like contraceptives that further complicates their family planning and maternal healthcare (Gurr, 2015).

The Native American group of people has always been given a raw deal when it comes to the provision of healthcare and other essential public services despite having an immense contribution to many facets of the global society. That is why the directors at the IHS, who constitute the primary audience for this speech, ought to take proactive measures to ensure that the clinics are up and running as well as executing their mandate of prioritizing the health of Native Americans. Early interventions should be implemented to avert the untimely deaths of Native Americans through preventable causes like pneumonia, homicide, cancer, suicide, and car accidents. IHS health facilities should brought proximate to the residential areas of all Native Americans to increase the availability and accessibility of healthcare services whenever they are needed. Basic services like contraceptives and maternal healthcare should be available in all the IHS facilities (Joe & Gachupin, 2012). Vaccinations, immunizations, and regular check-ups among the Native Americans should be improved to increase their life expectancy and avoid the loss of productive years. Social inequality and discrimination need to be addressed to help empower the Native Americans away from poverty and into job and education opportunities. Adequate housing and law enforcement services have to be provided for the Native Americans to have a fair chance of catching up with other communities in America. The IHS should also be sufficiently funded to increase the 54% of services currently offered to a higher percentage. Federal funding needs to be increased instead of the proposed budgetary cuts (Riley, 2016).

References

Gurr, B. A. (2015). Reproductive justice: The politics of health care for Native American women. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.

Joe, J. R., & Gachupin, F. C. (2012). Health and social issues of Native American women. Santa Barbara: Praeger.

Riley, N. S. (2016). The new Trail of Tears: How Washington is destroying American Indians. New York: Encounter Books.

Weatherford, J. (2012). Indian givers: How Native Americans transformed the world. New York, N.Y: Three Rivers Press.