From Tundra Drums, a publication of Alaska Newspapers, Inc
Last week a member of President Bush’s Cabinet, Mike Leavitt (head of the Department of Health and Human Services) toured a Western Alaska village to get a better understanding of the problems that help leave Alaska Natives riddled with health problems.
“This is just unacceptable,” he said, as he stared at a festering sewage lagoon on the edge of Kwethluk, a Yup’ik village of about 750.
Frothy, olive-colored “Honeybucket Lake,” as residents call it, is where the village dumps its feces because, like dozens of rural Alaska communities, it lacks flush toilets and running water.
“When it floods, it seeps out,” mixing with floodwaters that reach town and turn dirt roads into a soupy mess, said tribal administrator Herman Evan.
He and other village leaders suggested that may be one reason children often miss school with diarrhea, fevers and other illnesses. Also, the lack of tap water makes it difficult to wash hands – most villagers draw their drinking water from the Kwethluk River.
The day started with a visit to a behavioral health center in Bethel, where psychiatrists, teachers and other experts help troubled boys recover from a history of huffing gas and other inhalants. Toward the end of the day, Leavitt said the trip gave him an eye-opening view of village life that will lead to better-informed decisions as he reviews budgets totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
To find out more about the Secretary’s visit please click here for the full story.
Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Alex Demarban, author of the article, as he shares his thoughts and experience with touring the Western village alongside Secretary Leavitt.
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