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 ]
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