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Native American communities are often left in information “blind spots” because federal and state governments restrict public health data.
That’s according to KFF Health News.
It reported federal investigators and tribal epidemiologists documented multiple obstacles, including confusion over data-sharing policies, poor or old data, and strict privacy rules for sensitive health issues such as HIV and substance misuse.
And in 2022, the Government Accountability Office published a report that confirmed tribal health officials’ concerns, including at the Great Plains tribal epidemiology center.
Federal investigators learned that health officials in Native American communities dealt with federal agencies lacking clear processes, policies, and guidelines for sharing data.
Tribal health officials reported that data denials hindered their ability to respond to serious health issues, including contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic and a syphilis outbreak in the Midwest and Southwest.
They add that while some data sharing has improved, there’s more work to be done.
In South Dakota, Rapid City Area Schools superintendent Nicole Swigart has been relieved of her duties by the local school board.
This follows reported remarks published in a recent civil rights investigation about Indigenous students.
SDPB’s C.J. Keene reports.
The decision was finalized at this week’s school board meeting after two-and-a-half hours of discussion and public comment.
In the report, quotes are attributed to Swigart about tribes not valuing education, informing students they don’t need to graduate, and saying the district struggles with “Indian time”.
Rapid City Schools has the highest proportion of indigenous students in the state, and these comments stirred deep controversy.
Critically, Swigart now denies making the comments published in the report.
“There is no proof that I made these alleged derogatory statements, yet this board is terminating my employment anyway. The entire disciplinary process has been unjust and punitive. I accepted the boards 30-day suspension beginning on July 2, and I fully expected to return to work. Yet without warning or explanation on July 18, I was sent a notice of intent to terminate.”
Swigart is not without supporters, many of whom spoke to her character and long history with the district.
However, some aggressively confronted the board following the decision, accusing board members of being influenced by a Rapid City area Native advocacy group.
NDN Collective local organizers attend the RCAS Board of Education meeting where members of the community expressed their frustration and disappointment with the racist comments made by Superintendent Nicole Swigart; calling for immediate action to be taken by the board.
— NDN Collective (@ndncollective) June 5, 2024
In turn, visibly emotional members of the board expressed the difficulty and weight this decision came with.
That includes board vice president Jamie Clapham.
“First of all, I honor and acknowledge the 33 years Mrs. Swigart served in this district, and the hundreds and probably thousands of lives she impacted. That is to be commended, celebrated, and never forgotten. This is likely the most difficult situation that I have faced in this seat. I sit in this chair because I care, and I’m committed to this community.”
Ultimately, the board voted 6-1 to fire Swigart.
That termination is effective August 16.
Assistant Superintendent Cory Strasser will serve as the interim superintendent.
BPA office takeover in 1975. (Courtesy Herb Alden / Oregon Historical Society)
And on this day in 1975, 100 Native American protesters took over the Portland, Oreg. offices of the Bonneville Power Administration.
The occupation was part of several activities organized to protest what they said was federal repression on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian reservations.
Similar occupations were staged at Alcatraz Island in 1969, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office in Washington, DC in 1972.
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