WebQuest:
Native American Health Problems
G. Urbanas
Grace Dodge Vocational High School
T.I.P.S.
Introduction:
Imagine yourself a Hunkpapa Sioux Indian living on a reservation or in an
American city. You are aware of the fact that your people have health problems,
which are unique to the Sioux, as well as other health problems which are
shared with most of your fellow Americans. You worry about these issues enough
to investigate what services the government offers. The government is doing
something, but is it enough? Can more
be done? What needs to be changed or
done for the first time? Your research leads you to conclude that some public
policy changes are needed.
Task:
The question of what needs to be done to address and
begin to solve health problems unique to Native Americans is one Indians and
the United States government have both wrestled with since the “first
encounters”. In order to design new
policy initiatives several steps have to be taken. Exact problems have to
identified, new policy must be formulated, costs and feasibility have to be
determined, and steps toward implementation need to be taken.
T.I.P.S. is a program run out of Syracuse University,
which is funded by the Federal Government to educate students about the nature
of Public Policy through computer technology. You will visit the T.I.P.S. site
and examine the steps, which a public policy analyst follows when taking the
first initiatives towards pushing for new legislation to deal with problems
confronting American society. Visit this site and “check it out!” The T.I.P.S. site can introduce you to the
process a public policy analyst goes through. Examine the steps. Remember, you
can use the search engine www.google.com
to look up things you might have questions on. Visit the links (they’re in
blue) in this WebQuest by clicking on them to learn about Indian health
problems and to gather information on health problems and history of American
Indians.
Native
American Health Problems
Native Americans face unique health challenges. Due
to policy decisions made in the past they are to some extent dependent on the
Federal Government for solutions. The Problem: What new areas need to be
researched and addressed in order to implement new and effective public policy
initiatives which will better serve concerns of the American Indian communities.
Historical
Background
Policy decisions in the past grew out of an
atmosphere of conquest and disregard for American Indian culture and history. Treaties between the government and
individual tribes or “nations” led to a myriad of agreements,
which reflect the individual concerns of over 300 Indian communities and their
negotiations with the Federal authorities. Since the late 19th
century the Bureau
of Indian Affairs has administered services and implemented provisions of
treaty obligations to Native American nations. The history of the BIA is a
telling indictment of past government policy towards these Americans. Though
numerous programs have been designed and legislation passed, serious health issues persist both
on the reservations and off.
Health
Issues Facing the American Indian Community
A number of important problems confront the people
of Indian communities. There are general categories of health issues and unique
challenges, which are being dealt with, to one extent or another. In general,
though, American Indians suffer from higher incidences of illness and medical conditions than the
general population of the United States. Women on reservations and off have health concerns which are
shared with women throughout the American population, as well as ones which
grow out of conditions on reservations and in Indian communities. Changes in
habits and behavior stemming from gradual adjustments to modern American
generic culture have also caused new problems. Not quite “culture shock” but
perhaps “culture discontinuity” seems to be felt. Adjusting to changing mores and even everyday living has resulted
in new concerns in all communities. Native Americans, of course, share these
mild shocks with the rest of the American population. The traditional ways of
everyday life, to the chagrin of some, are giving way to the generic. Children are raised within a community which
is struggling to survive, preserve traditions, and yet enter modern society and
share in the benefits all Americans should be entitled to as promised by the
democratic traditions of the people of the United States and the Constitution.
As children are
the future, so do they represent the key to changing the cycle of health
problems, which are disproportionately represented in our Native American
community.
Process:
Here’s
what we want you to do:
Determine: What is the problem?.
What are the
existing policies?
What policies can
you create to solve the problem?
What
will be your best solution?
1-
Familiarize
yourself with the links in this WebQuest. ( i.e. Hunkpapa Sioux, culture and
history, Bureau of Indian Affairs, etc. ) In this way you’ll begin to
understand the historical foundations for the policies now in effect.
2-
Research,
Complete 3 worksheets in the T.I.P.S.
These are the worksheets which follow “Define the problem”, “Gather
evidence”, and “Develop solutions”. If
you must, (or if the printer isn’t working), you can write the questions and
your answers on a separate piece of paper. You’ll find the answers to these
questions in the site links in this WebQuest, or from books, magazine and
newspaper articles, and other sources you’ll find in your library.
3-
E-mail
your conclusion and/or policy suggestion to your elected official, either
through e-mail or letter. (You’ll need to give me a copy of this.)
Resources:
Books related to American Indians in modern America.
Articles from newspapers and magazines on Native
American Health, concerns, problems, etc.
Websites:
Use www.google.com
and type in “American Indian Health problems”, and look through the
numerous sites which have been created to address health concerns, legislation,
and issues of the Native American (or are they Siberian American?) community.
Evaluation:
I will assess what you learned by this exercise in
Public Policy Analysis through the quality of your answers to the 3 T.I.P.S. question sheets and your conclusion/ public policy recommendation statement (the best solution) which
you e-mailed to your representative or elected official. You need to turn into
me copies of these (4) documents.
Sites you might want to examine:
http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/index.asp
http://info.ihs.gov/Issues.asp
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/cbm/amindhlt.html
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4725/
Standards
Social Studies
1 History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the U.S and N.Y.
5 Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.