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The infant mortality rate in Native America is 1.5 times higher than whites, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. In some areas, like South Dakota, state health statistics show Native babies are three times more likely to die before their first birthday. If our children are sacred, why is the mortality rate so much higher? Does the issue lie in prenatal health?
Guests:
Dr. James Jarvis (Mohawk) – professor of clinical pediatrics at the State University of New York in Buffalo
April Winters (Taos Pueblo, Blackfeet and Dakota) – family support specialist for TIWA Babies
Carol Iron Rope Herrera (Oglala Sioux) – Stone Boy Woman Society leader and works for the tribe’s child protection agency
Carolyn Aoyama – senior consultant for Women’s Health and the Maternal and Child Health Lead for the Indian Health Service
Break Music: Crow Hop (song) The St. Labre Indian School Drum Group (artist) The Drum Of St. Labre (album)
