Fort Peck Tribes Lose Key Tribal Leader

Indian Country lost a tribal leader recently, Darryl Red Eagle. Red Eagle, tribal councilman for the Fort Peck Tribes, was finishing up his third term on the tribal council. He fought hard for not only his own people, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, but all of Indian Country, especially when it came to health care. In February of 2008 Darryl testified before Congress about the horrible conditions of the Indian Health Service on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

A majority of the Fort Peck Tribe’s membership don’t have any health insurance so they are dependent on Indian Health Service for health care. To be referred out for specialized services such as an EKG is another process that isn’t guaranteed. A patient can spend the whole entire day waiting to be seen only to receive Tylenol. The IHS “insurance” is so inadequate that the tribal members it covers are routinely denied even the most basic medical care, sometimes with tragic results.

“I have to bury a loved one once a month,” said Darryl, who was the only remaining son of his mother Betty Ann. Red Eagle comes from a family of six, four brothers and one sister. His sister Maureen Red Eagle-Dionne is the only remaining sibling left.

“I’m here to set the record straight since you never read about this in any of the local papers but Darryl was responsible for a $13 billion dollar increase for health care,” said Stoney Anketell, who received a round of applause during the wake held for Red Eagle. Over 500 people attended the wake and funeral services held recently in Poplar, Montana for Red Eagle.

“I asked Darryl to speak up at a conference we both attended regarding oil development. I was teasing Darryl saying come on Darryl you’re from here too so you better get up and speak for us…so he did and I sure appreciated him for that,” said Tex Hall, Chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota. Red Eagle’s mother, Betty Ann Good Bird, is a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota but moved her family to Montana where her husband Delmar was from.

Darryl sat on a number of boards including being Co-Chair for the National Tribal Budget Work Group for the Indian Health Service and was also a member of the Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee. “We have some good things going on, and I’m pleased that the SDPI (Special Diabetes Program for Indians) has been funded through 2009. But we need it funded for another ten years,” said Red Eagle during his testimony before Congress.

“He was a big supporter of my Tribal Training Labor Agreement when I was TERO Director for the Fort Peck Tribes,” said Kevin Buckles. Buckles put together a unique partnership between the Fort Peck Tribes, Apollo, Inc. and the Laborers Union (LIUNA) where their water treatment plant would be a union project if the contractor Apollo, Inc., a union contractor, would agree to train tribal members in construction. Tribal members were not required to join the union but a majority of them signed up because of the benefits the union provided such as a pension, health insurance and better wages.

“We brought in the union. They bring in health care, they bring in a pension, they bring in benefits to our people. I believe that was the right move,” said Red Eagle.

“Recently, we had one young man get into a horrific car accident. His sister called me to thank me for checking on him and said that had it not been for him being in the union he would not be receiving the specialized care he is now,” explains Buckles. “They would have stabilized him and then sent him home because there just isn't any money.”

The IHS per capita appropriation for Indian health funding in 2003 was only $1,914 per person, about half the amount of federal per capita funding for health care for federal prisoners. Without an aggressive increase in funding Tribal communities will continue to suffer from health disparities.

Darryl always put his people before himself. He fought hard for more health care dollars not only for his people but all of Indian Country. He was a great listener and a friend to everyone he met. Most of all he admirably accepted the incredible shared sacrifice that being in public life demands. He understood the hardship that tribal politics has on a family as well as the hard work and commitment that it requires. The combination of accolades from his supporters and the respect he garnered from his sometimes political adversaries confirmed his successful career in the tribal politics. He will be deeply missed.