Public health datasets will often tell us nothing about Indigenous people. This type of data suppression has been described as data genocide and data terrorism, because it demonstrates the effort to erase Indigenous people. Even when data is available, Tribes and their partners are regularly denied access to public health data from other jurisdictions. The seemingly simple call for more accurate, comprehensive public health data regarding Indigenous communities butts up against complicated issues. Who is considered Native and thus captured in Indigenous data? Why is Indigenous data regularly excluded from datasets? Who gets access to Indigenous data? These questions implicate federal Indian law, colonization, and Tribal sovereignty. So, while better quality data and improved data access are important goals, there is no way to bifurcate the need for public health data with the systematic racism embedded into the laws that impact the analyzing, collecting, and disseminating of this data. This Article aims to outline how Indigeneity interfaces with public health surveillance systems, in the context of both the collection of accurate data and the access to such data. It summarizes existing law and policy that define “Indian” under various frameworks and explores the challenges and limitations of defining Indian, particularly for the purposes of public health surveillance. This Article ends with a series of considerations regarding public health surveillance reform to better support Indian country.
Below is a list of planned lease terminations pulled from the DOGE website on March 10, 2025. The list is likely incomplete and inaccurate, since DOGE’s “wall of receipts” has notoriously overstated its savings impact for federal taxpayers, requiring numerous corrections since it began posting details of its work.
The list below also includes plans for the closure of seven additional BIA offices. These additional closures were pulled from a table published by the Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee.
“The impact on Bureau of Indian Affairs offices will be especially devastating. These offices are already underfunded, understaffed, and stretched beyond capacity, struggling to meet the needs of Tribal communities who face systemic barriers to federal resources. Closing these offices will further erode services like public safety, economic development, education, and housing assistance—services that Tribal Nations rely on for their well-being and self-determination.” – Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee
Mark Macarro, President of NCAI, explained to the A.P. that funding for the BIA, IHS, and the BIE represents the lion’s share of the government’s obligations to tribes, and last year those departments made up less than a quarter of 1% of the federal budget. “They’re looking in the wrong place to be doing this,” said Macarro. “And what’s frustrating is that we know that DOGE couldn’t be a more uninformed group of people behind the switch. They need to know, come up to speed real quick, on what treaty rights and trust responsibility means.”
AGENCY
LOCATION
SQ FT
ANNUAL LEASE
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
CARNEGIE, OK
0
$2,798
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
ST. GEORGE, UT
750
$50,400
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
FREDONIA, AZ
1,500
$22,860
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-CALIFORNIA
ARCATA, CA
1,492
$37,012
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE NAVAJO
FARMINGTON, NM
2,000
$62,677
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
PAWNEE, OK
7,549
$156,171
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
SEMINOLE, OK
9,825
$184,770
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-BEMIDJI
BEMIDJI, MN
4,896
$133,916
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE -OKLAHOMA
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
5,000
$119,951
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
WATONGA, OK
2,850
$38,573
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
PABLO, MT
620
$10,418
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
RAPID CITY, SD
1,825
$53,911
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
FORT THOMPSON, SD
4,870
$58,976
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
SISSETON, SD
4,911
$180,008
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-BEMIDJI
TRAVERSE CITY, MI
798
$28,638
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
ZUNI, NM
2,117
$39,819
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE NAVAJO
GALLUP, NM
20,287
$322,529
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
ELKO, NV
4,760
$134,297
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
ASHLAND, WI
34,970
$649,408
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
SHAWANO, WI
1,990
$36,395
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE NAVAJO
SAINT MICHAELS, AZ
40,924
$1,074,931
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
PHOENIX, AZ
71,591
$1,784,239
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
REDDING, CA
5,307
$154,103
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
HOLLYWOOD, FL
3,000
$79,365
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-PHOENIX
ELKO, NV
853
$22,240
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-NASHVILLE
MANLIUS, NY
2,105
$37,648
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-NASHVILLE
OPELOUSAS, LA
1,029
$25,015
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-BEMIDJI
SAULT STE MARIE, MI
1,100
$34,375
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-CALIFORNIA
UKIAH, CA
1,848
$45,857
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
PAWHUSKA, OK
10,335
$166,134
NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION
RAPID CITY, SD
1,518
$43,938
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
TOPPENISH, WA
17,107
$533,985
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
BARAGA, MI
1,200
$14,400
OFFICE OF HEARING AND APPEALS (PROBATE HEARINGS DIVISION)
RAPID CITY, SD
2,252
$53,198
TOTALS
270927
$6,339,757
Additional Office Closures – House Natural Resources Committee List
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