[War] US: Indian Affairs

[John Penta]

"Indian Affairs"
6 May 2014
Pres. John Williams
USA
================
<The White House>

    On his first day back, the President looked over his email with a smile.

    Even the President got spam, after all. Not much, but some.

    "Ah, normality." He checked the spam filter again.

    But then the smile went away. It was an email from Robert
Twinfeathers, an Army buddy of his and a Navajo.

    Like many Native Americans, he came back from the Army to find few
opportunities on the reservation - the Navajo Nation was huge, but in
many areas it lacked even running water or electricity. Indian gaming
had made some tribes rich, but many of the larger tribes were still in
dire straits.

    And this email was a testament to it. Bob had a good job, as a
paramedic on the reservation. The email was a stiry of patients lost
because of inadequate staffing, inadequate equipment...They had a kid
die of appendicitis a few days ago.

    That was when you could hear a pin drop in John's office.

    In modern medicine, people -did not- die of appendicitis. Not anymore.

    A click and a few keystrokes forwarded the email to the BIA chief
and the Secretary of the Interior. With an attached comment:

    "I'd like to know what the hell we're doing to change this
nationwide. By EOB."

     The answer came back in moments. There wasn't much they -could- do.

     There wasn't really the resources.

     It was basically the last straw. Now POTUS was on the warpath, so to speak.

    The email wound up attached to a memo that was sent to the
entirety of the Cabinet.
---
Ladies and Gentlemen:

    The email attached is from a friend of mine. It animates,
graphically, how badly the United States Government has, to be very
blunt, screwed over the Native Americans. This goes way past broken
treaties, folks. People are dying from -Appendicitis- in this country.

    I know the problems, I know the reasons why nothing's changed.

   I no longer give a damn why things cannot be done. Things WILL GET DONE.

   Specific orders:

   Military medics will be asked to volunteer to perform tasks for
American Indian reservations and Native Alaskan communities.

    My intent is to correct such medical deficits as can be dealt with
during Annual Training periods.

    PHS will be redeployed from from nonessential research tasks to
clinical duties in Native Communities to the greatest extent possible.
The Surgeon-General will extend my apologies - this is necessary,
there just aren't enough medical personnel otherwise. One of the tasks
of the PHS personnel will, however, be -training- that medical
capacity. Think how you would train doctors in the most remote parts
of other countries - that's the idea here. Trainees will commit to at
least 5 years service in their community.

   EOP will arrange "town meetings" in as many of the major
reservations as possible - 1 meeting per day, few hours peer meeting.
Keep the schedule sane, that said. Let's figure out what the issues
are, and how the Federal Government, staying in its lane, can be
helpful.

   OSD will review all awards of the MOH made from establishment to
1917, particularly those awarded during the Indian Campaigns. If
revocation is determined to be appropriate, it will occur
expeditiously.

   Williams
---
Actions:
1. US military and PHS will deploy to provide medical support to
Native American reservations and Alaska Native communities.
2. OSD to review all awards of the Medal of Honor from its
establishment until 1917, particularly those awarded during the Indian
Wars.
3. EOP to arrange town meetings on major reservations, to be presided
over by POTUS.