Indian Housing Deficits Described in new report

Rachel Joseph has seen entire Native American families living in just one room, children huddled in housing so poorly insulated that shafts of light could be seen through the flimsy wooden walls. Now a report by the National American Indian Housing Council highlights what Joseph, chairwoman of the Lone Pine Paiute Tribe in California, has known all along, that substandard and overcrowded housing contributes to a plethora of health, social and family problems within her community. Joseph, co-chairwoman of the national steering committee for reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, says the federal government has, over decades, failed to address the needs of Native Americans. Launching the report on the eve of the official opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in the District, Chester Carl, chairman of the NAIHC, said the timing was fitting. "The opening of the museum is a cause to celebrate -- but it is also a reminder that there are issues such as health and housing that continue to plague Indian people," Carl said. [more ]