rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/ihs-director-bill-sept-2026?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-ihs-director-bill-sept-2026' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund https://actionnetwork.org/groups/native-organizers-alliance https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/groups/default_facebook_images/000/022/886/original/NOA_ActionFundBanner2.png?1668645803 For over 100 years, Tribal Nations fought for and negotiated treaties with the federal government that agreed to fund healthcare, housing, education, nutrition, and other programs for Native peoples to guarantee a future for their descendants. But the government has never lived up to its treaty responsibilities. Our communities face major health disparities, including lower life expectancies. Native programs are severely underfunded, including the Indian Health Service (IHS). And last year, Congress made even more cuts to food stamps and Medicaid. Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund has pushed back and urged the U.S. government to uphold our treaty rights, as well as human rights for all residents of Turtle Island. This year, we drove 30,000 messages to Congress to pass the Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act to prioritize Native healthcare nationwide. And this month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill! If the Senate passes this policy into law, it will elevate the IHS Director to Assistant Secretary for Indian Health within the Department of Health and Human Services -- increasing Native representation and authority in federal healthcare decision-making. Groups such as the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Health Board have endorsed this bill. So has the National Council of Urban Indian Health, whose CEO said: “Effective healthcare delivery requires empowered leadership, and elevating the IHS Director to Assistant Secretary [for Indian Health, within the Department of Health and Human Services] is a critical step in moving Indian health from an afterthought to a primary focus of federal healthcare policy.” Pushing the Senate to pass the Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act into law would get us closer to: a federal government that upholds Tribal sovereignty ensuring our sovereign right and treaty right to healthcare eradicating deadly health disparities saving and improving lives Click “START WRITING” to urge your Senators to pass this bipartisan bill to save lives and take a step toward upholding their responsibilities to Tribal Nations. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/ihs-director-bill-sept-2026