In 1997, Congress authorized the Special Diabetes Program for Indians to address the extraordinary prevalence of diabetes among Indians. It is now in its twentieth year and up for reauthorization. This program has demonstrated significant inroads in reducing diabetes and its complications, such as limb amputations, heart disease and kidney failure. However, there is still more work to be done. Indian people have a greater chance of being diagnosed with diabetes than any other racial or ethnic group in the Country. It is the fifth leading cause of death for Native people. This disease is now...

The winters can be hazardous in many parts of the country. With the spring comes the thaw and often flooding. Some Indian reservations in North Dakota, most notably the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, have received major disaster declarations due to spring flooding. In other parts of the country, oftentimes it is tornadoes or battling fires. Tribes around the country experience other types of emergencies and disasters. Since the enactment of the Tribal Stafford Act in 2013, tribes have been able to request emergency or major disaster declarations...