Good evening. I'm really here. I think I arrived with the GI December 12th, and I got a call from mr. Barter at 10 o'clock that morning asking me to participate on this panel. I'm probably the only person from Arizona whose wintering in, Minnesota. I drive around Bemidji with my car in the Arizona plates and they say there's that crazy. We're going from Arizona who's up here. It's 30 below my car started though. This is really my home. Minnesota is my home. I was born and raised on the white Earth Indian Reservation. So I come home every year every summer and the summer and and attend family gatherings. And so it was good to be home. It has convinced me though. That winter is not for me anymore. I'm too old for that and listening to the statistics. I reminded my grandmother was a full-blood Chippewa who lived to be 97. I'm going to be like her. I'm going to outlive these statistic that you've been hearing this this this evening and her lifestyle I think was she was really way ahead of all of us and helped you prepare health promotion and disease prevention. She used to get up at five o'clock and walk at least two miles a day eat a big breakfast to moderate lunch and have a little cup of knee beige, which is T for supper at night. And I think that contributed to her healthy lifestyle and a fact that she lived and was conscious right up until she said hello to whoever she was saying hello to at the time when she died. I'd like to call your attention. I noticed people taking notes. There is a chart series by the Indian Health Service has put out every year it contains all the past health issues and programs that have that have been conducted gives you all the statistics and success stories of the Indian Health Service. If you're interested in this publication, we'd be glad to send it to you and I'll my office is currently in Bemidji. I'm here for a four month stint. And but if you'll let us know we'd be happy to send it to you or perhaps someone through the college would be happy to do that. I'd like to just maybe just tell you a little bit and give you a national perspective on the Indian Health Service. There are 11 regions of the Indian Health Service scattered throughout the United States Alaska have course being our northernmost. We have a hospital and nurses and doctors who live and work in Tanana Alaska the northernmost city in the world. And I said if I've ever sent their forget that you know, they don't see daylight half of the year. So but there is a full-fledged Hospital doing general surgery, but they had to be flown to Anchorage for other things. So it's quite an exciting time and exciting life up there. There are 11,000 employees in the Indian Health Service scattered throughout the country 55 56 percent of those are Indian. Since I've been in service since 1976 with a scholarship program about 10,000 Indian men and women have been able to continue their professional schooling throughout the country and various professional schools medicine nursing Dentistry Pharmacy Public Health the Educators the emphasis being on the health care professions. And so I think that is quite an accomplishment. The topic that I was to talk, I was are you ready for this when I read this and I thought what is this mean? I was to address political realities facing the Indian Health Service and possible changes in policy and funding under the Bush Administration. Well, we all know all know how mr. Bush's fairing these days. My heart goes out to him. However, he does have my sympathy. I would like to just mention a little bit about the budget because every year the budget and Monty Hammonds on this panel and if anybody knows budget money Marty Hammond does and he'll be able to maybe address some of these issues the budget, you know operates about three years in advance. So while we have received are we still waiting for 89 Appropriations and allocations. We're now looking And discussing the budget hearings were today. The 1990 budget that information is open to anybody who like to see it. It's part where public agency it's public information. It's not a secret. So if you want to look at budget information you let me know what you want. We'll send it to you the budget this year. I think really is a marked departure and budget requested the previous years, especially within the Reagan administration because the spending plan for 1990 recommends funding that would continue most Indian Health Service programs at their current levels and does call for several initiatives at least with some moderate increases particularly some substantial increases in travel Contracting and I think that's fairly significant the budget this year is over 1 billion dollars. The Indian Health Service manages 54 Hospital scattered throughout the country serves have health centers and health stations a difference being a health center is a 40-hour a week day Clinic a health station, maybe a tiny little building way out there on the isolated part of the reservation where a public health nurse at a physician lab tech Mike struggle to get out there to provide Clinical Services one day a week. That's the difference between those two the this area by the way, Bemidji area is a misnomer. In fact, I think we ought to move to Duluth, but I'm sure I'd be route of I'm Iran in Minnesota for making that for making that proposal. I really think that I was removed and South Dakota when I suggest you remove the area office from Aberdeen to Rapid City, and I thought that was an awfully good idea, but Senator Abner didn't think so. So I left for Tucson and I like Better anyway, so anyway, there are some interesting things going on in the Indian Health Service. I think when you look at budget Figures, it's a little a better than 1 billion dollars again in 1990. Of course, those are always tentative figures. There's an awful lot of negotiation discussion that goes on at these hearings and they'd probably governor mikham of Arizona would call that horse trading. I think you all heard about Governor Mika and he's a real proponent of Health by the way is not anyone elses. I think that the we do not expect the budget to have any substantial changes in 1990, but this is the way the government does things will give you some increases in some aspect of your budget decrease other portions of a seal with never really gained a Thing and then if inflation is 7% your increases your 3% and if you have 10 fingers, you can figure all that out. So you really never really catch up. I think the administration under mr. Regan tended to eliminate to reduce such programs as the community health Representatives. Urban Health tribal management this budget of all things shows a slight increase for those programs rather than trying to get rid of them. They are attempting for to bring in some slight increases for these programs and at least maybe just take care of half of an inflation cost the 1990 budget and this Administration continue to fail to request funding for construction of hospitals and for the provision of Sanitation facilities for Indian homes and communities that is a real struggle for all the communities most reservations if you've traveled around the country, you know, They are on very isolated parts of the country difficult to get to my current permanent position in Tucson. We serve two tribes and we serve the Papago tribe that reservation is size of the state of Connecticut and the Pascua yaqui tribe is a fairly new recognized tribe in this country. 482 Indian tribes are federally recognized. So that means they are eligible for some kind of service through the United States government principally through treaty obligations and treaty rights many of those tribes were terminating the 50s when they were attempt to assimilate Indians into the mainstream, and we fold them. We didn't want to be mainstream. We like to come home every summer like I do and participate in Indian family and Indian ways, and we do stick to that. I'd be happy to answer questions at the end of the program. Thank you. Thank you.