Tribes hope legal win will shift attention to health care

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Native American tribes across the Great Plains are hoping that a decisive legal victory will shift federal officials’ attention to their struggle to obtain quality health care. The Rapid City Tribune reported Wednesday (Dec. 22, 2021) that the U.S. Justice Department has dropped its appeal of a federal judge’s 2020 ruling that the Indian Health Service must provide adequate health care to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. The tribe sued after the agency closed its Rosebud emergency room in 2015, forcing tribal members to travel at least 50 miles to other hospitals. Tribal advocates say they hopes the case will focus attention on health conditions in Native American communities and encourage Congress to spend more on tribal health care.