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The current flu season is the worst in 15 years in terms of doctor’s visits. Tuberculosis cases are rising. On the horizon is a possible bird flu outbreak that is already affecting millions of livestock birds and it’s starting to make the jump to humans. This is all happening with the backdrop of lapsed information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmation of a federal health secretary who openly expressed skepticism about vaccines, and unprecedented cuts in the works for the Indian Health Service. We’ll get a gauge of the current threats to the health of Native Americans.
GUESTS
Dean Seneca (Seneca), CEO and founder of Seneca Scientific Solutions+
Katherine Minthorn (Umatilla), an owner of Rez Chicks Co-Op
Aiono Dr. Alec Ekeroma (Samoan), director general of Samoa’s Health Ministry
Chanda Hesson, nurse consultant for the State of Alaska’s section of epidemiology and the lead nurse consultant for the Alaska Department of Health’s tuberculosis team
Dr. Robert Belknap, executive director of the Public Health Institute at Denver Health
Break 1 Music: Too Much of Anything (song) Donita Large (artist)
Break 2 Music: Burn A Smudge (song) Trent Agecoutay (artist) Uncle Trent and Friends (album)
In the opening newscast on your February 19th show I heard a troubling mention of the well-known negative effects of Enbridge on Native lands. Yet following the news, Enbridge was included among the sponsors of the show, stating that it strives to be “a good steward of the environment.”
I’m concerned about the corrosive effects of financial sponsorship by Enbridge, a global entity, on a small but important Indigenous news organization that exposes corporate harm wreaked on Native populations and lands.
I am not Indigenous, but I am tuned in to corporate whitewashing and the power of money, especially on an organization that relies on corporate financial support for its survival.