The health of American Indians and Alaska Natives

doi:10.1136/bmjusa.03050002

BMJ, doi: 10.1136/bmjusa.03050002, (Published 1 June 2003)

Editorial

The health of American Indians and Alaska Natives

Health influence factors in common with other indigenous populations

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

From BMJ USA 2003;May:242

The health and welfare of the indigenous American Indian andAlaska Native people of the United States have improved significantlysince passage of the Snyder Act in 1921, which authorized healthservices for them, and official establishment of the Indian Health Service (IHS) in 1955 as an agency of the US Departmentof Health and Human Services. Although the American Indianand Alaska Native populations of the United States number approximately2.6 million, the provision of federal health services is availableonly to members of tribes that are federally recognized. Currentlythere are 562 federally recognized tribes in this country,with a total population of 1.6 million persons who are eligiblefor IHS services. Of the 50 states, 35 are considered "reservation"states because of the presence of Indian reservations —with 55.7 million acres of tribal land held in trust by theUS government for . . . [Full text of this article]