Tribes welcome infusion of money in infrastructure bill

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Tribes welcomed an infusion of money in the massive infrastructure bill to expand broadband coverage, fix roads and address water and sanitation needs, but they say real change will come only with sustained investment. “In these and several other tribal communities, sanitation and clean water systems would never be built because the annual appropriations were insufficient to cover all the deficiencies,” the National Indian Health Board said Wednesday. “It’s critical to getting the money that Congress just appropriated on to the ground and into actual projects.” Building and improving upon water and sanitation systems will have a cascading effect in tribal communities and urban areas where most Native Americans live, improve health disparities and foster economic development, the National Indian Health Board said. The group also said the momentum should continue with Congress fully funding health care facilities serving Indigenous people as part of the federal government’s obligation to federally recognized tribes. “It’s been decades that we’ve been talking about eliminating the honey bucket and getting clean drinking water into communities, and sanitation systems,” she said, referring to lined buckets used to collect human waste in many isolated Alaska Native villages that lack indoor plumbing.