Kennedy’s Generational Commitment to Native Americans

By Anne Keala Kelly, Special to The MAHA Report

The passing of another Indigenous People’s Day on Monday gives supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a moment to reflect on him and his family’s generational commitment to Native American life.

On a number of his policy positions, one could draw an unbroken line from RFK Jr. to his father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Nowhere is the senior Kennedy’s influence more evident than in the attention his son gives, as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to the health of America’s Indigenous people, which numbers about 9 million, or 2.9% of the population.

Since his confirmation to lead HHS in February, Secretary Kennedy has made a point of visiting Native American communities around the country, to speak with leaders on the ground, fact find, and advocate for and express his commitment to Native American healthcare.

As promised during his nomination hearings, and again last spring at the Tribal Self-Governance Conference (near Phoenix) in conversation with the HHS Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC), Secretary Kennedy has stayed true to his family’s commitment to Indian Country. On stage at that conference, Kennedy revisited the night of his father’s assassination, telling those in attendance that Senator Kennedy was late for his speech at the Ambassador Hotel on the fateful night of his assassination because he was on the phone with tribal leaders from South Dakota; Kennedy won the SD primary that day, in addition to California, and he had campaigned at Pine Ridge Reservation.

The significance of Senator Kennedy’s personal connection to South Dakota cannot be overstated for two reasons – the first, his own visceral reaction to the abject poverty he witnessed there even before his campaign shined a light on the hardships endured by Indian people; and the second: because he gave enough of a damn to come back during his campaign, 99% of the Native Americans in South Dakota voted for him in that primary.

So, when Secretary Kennedy swore in Mark Cruz as a senior advisor in June, it was one-part his own promise, and one-part familial legacy. In his advisory role, Cruz, a member of Klamath Tribes of Oregon, is both the liaison between HHS and the tribes and also tasked with contributing to the creation of a unified strategy for the health of Native Americans.

With substantial cuts in the federal budget to overall spending, there is a profound need for a fresh fiscal take on Native health. Kennedy is aware.

Despite seismic cuts to other government department’s budgets, Indian Health Service’s overall budget under Kennedy is seeing an increase of over a billion dollars, a 47% increase for Contract Support Costs (which covers overhead operational costs) and a new Native American Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorder program (Natives suffer higher rates of drug and alcohol disorders than any other ethnicity in the country.)

Kennedy’s approach to enhancing Native health has also included intervention on scheduled layoffs at Indian Health Service (IHS) soon after he was sworn in, and sending more than 70 public service health officers to help with at least some of the severely understaffed clinics in Native communities.

In a September 22 statement from HHS, Secretary Kennedy is quoted saying, “For too long, tribal communities have gone without the care they deserve,” a clear reminder of the ongoing struggle for Native American health and wellbeing. He continues, “With vacancy rates above 30%, this mobilization takes bold action to close gaps and deliver timely, quality care to Native families. By working hand-in-hand with Tribal leaders, providers, and families, we are restoring trust and driving the mission to Make America Healthy Again—starting in Indian Country.”

Secretary Kennedy cares deeply about the health of all Americans, which includes America’s First Peoples.

Anne Keala Kelly is a Native Hawaiian filmmaker and journalist based in Hawaii, producing media about Indigenous peoples.