John McCain's vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, routinely uses racial slurs to refer to Native Americans, according to news reports coming from Alaska.

The governor calls the native inhabitants of the 49th state "F***ing Eskimos" or "Arctic Arabs." The story didn't go into detail on how she referred to the Apache's Athabascan cousins in the far north. But chances are she does not show them respect. Full Story

Bush Proposal Would Further Cut Indian Health

The Indian Health Service, long funded at less than half of the true need, would be further cut under a proposal from the Bush Administration.

While funding for Medicare and other health care programs rise at a rapid rate, the current administration has decided that Indians can get by on $21 million less despite high inflation in health care.

“The President’s FY 2009 budget request for the IHS is perhaps the worst budget submission for the Agency in at least fifteen years,” says a highly respected study done in cooperation with multiple tribes by the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.

While it costs $3,903 to care for other non-elderly people in public health care programs nationwide, the IHS is expected to get by on $2,130 per person.

Allowing for population increase and inflation, the IHS budget is only a third of the size it was 1984, according to the study.
Full Analysis

Tell us about how you feel. Is it fair that Indians receive only about half the $4,000 spent on non-Indians in public health care? Comment

Navajo County Recorder To Visit

Whiteriver: At Human Resource Building – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Sept. 8.

Number to call to get mail-in ballots: 800 668-3867

Voter Registration Forms are available at:
The Post Offices
Tribal Chairman’s Office
Tribal Council Office
The Cibique Community Center

Our Project

ApachesVote.org is working to register voters on the White Mountain Apache Reservation and increase voter turnout. The Reservation, larger than Rhode Island and Delaware, and half the size of Connecticut, boasts 10 registered Democrats for every one registered Republican. The Reservation is a key battleground in Democratic efforts to win the first congressional district in Arizona, one of the best hopes for Democrats to add to their House majority in 2008.

We have mined data sources to produce a list of 9,899 names and 7,416 addresses on the Reservation. We will be scrubbing and validating these lists over the next couple of weeks.

We will then compare these lists electronically with the 5,130 registered voters in the seven precincts on the reservation to determine who is not registered.

We need contributions to help pay for the mailings and personal visits to the unregistered.

ApachesVote.org is an independent committee involved in voter registration and voter turnout and does not endorse particular candidates or take positions on Arizona ballot issues.