Inequality in health care access and coverage has become a key issue for American Indian voters in the upcoming Presidential election on November 2.

Senator John Kerry disclosed his health policy plan on September 28 that promises to provide billions of dollars to Native American health programs if he is elected. According to Indianz.com Bush's campaign aides believe that Kerry's proposed budget for 2005 is impractical and will "break the bank."

At the Annual Tribal Health Conference in August in Billings, Montana, Indian Health Services (IHS) research analyst Cliff Wiggins said that American Indians and Alaska Natives who use IHS typically receive $1,500 less per year in health care services than those with "mainstream" health plans. When put into the context of 1.4 million tribal members, the overall disparity amounts to more than $2 billion. This issue, along with others pertaining to American Indian health, was the focus of the conference hosted by the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council.

The U.S.-Mexico border and the troubles faced by indigenous communities whose lands have been spliced down the middle are nothing new. But with increased fear of terrorism and heightened homeland security measures in the United States, the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona, which shares 75 miles of its border with Mexico, is being squeezed into a precarious position.

The Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe are awaiting the outcomes of negotiations with Peabody Coal Company over use of the Navajo-aquifer in Black Mesa, Arizona. To many of the region’s 30,000 residents who rely on the N-aquifer as their primary water source, Peabody’s operations are environmentally and culturally unacceptable.

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said on August 11 that he has been negotiating with Peabody Western Coal to continue operations on the Black Mesa Coal Mine near Kayenta, Arizona. The Tribe, which is currently involved in a $600 million lawsuit against the mining company, recently passed a resolution backed by tribal grassroots groups to end Peabody’s use of a specific aquifer by the end of 2005. Shirley criticized the resolution, warning that the mine’s closure would cost the tribe $35 million per year and hundreds of jobs for Navajo workers.