Dr. Don Warne is an excellent speaker and had a very well presented discussion, Dr. Don Warne brought many things to light which I had previously not considered. Since watching his presentation my thoughts and process have changed even when reading discussion posts from other classes, looking at how other students at times can unknowingly make very racist and crude remarks.
I also started researching the Amherst small pox blankets that were described in the discussion and was horrified by the letters that one could read online about such atrocities, although very old and hard to read. These articles and quotes from Atlas of the North American Indians by Carl Walman appeared to be very creditable and valuable resources since it is actually …show more content…
Don Warne was also very enlightening, “Equality would be giving everyone a pair of shoes; equity would be giving everyone a pair of shoes that fit.” (Warne, October 17, 2012) That is a very astute assessment and can be taken into the various areas of healthcare, not only those related to Native Americans. People vary in their health care needs and issues and are constantly being defined by the standard mold, however that standard mold never fits people’s needs one hundred percent, as people dealing with insurances our mold can fit us, if we are lucky, maybe forty percent of the time. In the healthcare field we as workers are required to be diverse and knowledgeable, however those insurances that are paying for our healthcare are not required to be diverse, nor are they very understanding. As a nation we are in dire need of healthcare reform which needs to first start with those in greater need the Native Americans, followed by the veterans. They have both earned the right to free and exceptional healthcare by the sacrifices and injustices that they have dealt with, whether voluntarily or not. Native Americans are the only citizens born in the United States that are entitled to healthcare , however they have the least amount spent on them, two thousand six hundred per person per year. Veterans have six thousand per person per year and there is a nationwide movement to improve their healthcare because of the sacrifice that the veterans make serving our country. (Warne, October 17, 2012) The mortality rate among Native Americans is comparable to that of a third world country and we hear nothing of the sacrifices and injustices that they face dealing with Indian Health Services. Personally I have interacted with both the IHS and the Veterans Bureau and believe that they both deserve better healthcare, examples being that the reservations at times do not have access to TNK for STEMI treatment and both the