Supreme Court upholds Affordable Health Care Act, including Indian Health Care Improvement Act

Here’s some links to click for see a roundup of Indian Country’s reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision last week upholding the majority of the Affordable Health Care Act.

As columnist Mark Trahant pointed out, the ruling means Indian Health Care Improvement Act is permanent.

Indian Country Today Media Network had a host of information to share.

Indianz.com also had a strong lineup of information on the decision. Click on the Indianz homepage, or the main story for lots more reading.

Native Americans strive for health against alcohol, chaos and trauma
In other health-related news, the Oregonian brings us a look at the seemingly never ending trauma substance abuse can bring to Native families.

Reporter Bill Graves reveals a poignant look at how “addiction is both a cause and product of the cycle of chaos that crushes Native families generation to generation.”

Here’s the beginning Graves’ story:

Pearl Scott lifts the baby from the crib and balances the child on her hip, just as someone did with her when she was a baby 20 years ago.

Her mom went through addiction treatment here in the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest’s residential center. Now Scott works for NARA, operated by and for Native Americans. She helps care for the 10 children, all 5 years old and younger, of parents in treatment.

“The counselors here remember me running down the hall with my mom chasing me,” she says.

Read the rest of his story here.

Jenna Cederberg