The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-08-30
Making Plans For Improvement Of
 Indians Health

washington, Aug. 30.-(A. P.)-- Plans for the improvement of the condition of the Indians, with par 1lcuiar regard to health and education. are being worked out by Comnaission- CT Burke of Indian Affairs with the approval of Secretary Fall, and an ifa- crease in the estimates for the Inoi- an Bureau probably will be asked in the next Indian appropriation bill. The American Red Cross recently acceded to a request from the Inter-
 ior Department for the assignment of three trained nurses to be detailed to the Indian Bureau for one year, as the first step in Commissioners Burke's program. In addition plans l for enlarged school facilities to edu- cate 2o,000 Indian children of school are not now in school are being work ed out Approximately 5000 of this
 number belong to the Navajoe tribe and have never been to school. The nurses assigned to the Indian service, it was said at the Indian Btu reau, will make a survey of conditions on Indian reservations and give demonstration of what may be accom-
 plished by women trained as nurses and in welfare work, to lay the foun- dation for asking Congress for an ap- propriation to enable the Indian Bu- reau to employ on the reservation women of a higher grade for matrons to Commissioner Burke's plans.
 There is great opportunity Commissioner Burke said today in commenting on his plans, flor inn proving home conditions among In- dians and in teaching sanitation and looking after the health of children. The American Red Cross at its recent
 meeting, made an allotment of funds to cover the expense necessary to ern- ploy the three nurses and they will be soon assigned to the Indian Bureau and will go into the field to spend one year. One will be stationed on the nhIrI ff<,vrsu in South Dakota; the other two will go to the Southwest and work among the different Indians in Arizona and
 New Mexico. This is only part of general plan adopted by the Interior | Department for improving and better
 ing conditions among the Indians. Another subject that is receiving ! a great deal of attention is that of ed- ucation-bui1ding up the schools a1-
 ready in the service, increasing the at- tendance to their full capacity, and | strengthening the personnel. There 1 is said to be 10000 Indian children l of school age not now in school. and 1 fully 5000 of this number are Maya | joes that have never been in school. An increase in the estimates for edu- cation will be submitted, in the hope 1 that Congress will respond in view Of 1 the demand.
 Tt is planned, if the money can be obtained, to enlarge many of the
 school plants by porch and other hoped that two abandoned military l posts, Fort Wingate, New Mexico, and 1 Fort Apache, Arizona, can be trans | ferred by the War Department to the
 Interior Department, to be converted into Indian schools. Both of these posts are desirable and well located, and should care for probably 1000 | pupils.
 | t'The Interior Department and the
 Indian Bureau are giving much atten-
 ton to health conditions at the several Indian schools and upon the different Indian reservations. and the present
 policy is to try and have at least one
 | hospital upon every reservation with
 a capacity sufficient to care for the
 sick, and particularly Indians that aFe
 very aged and inflrm and without
 means or homes where they can be comfortably and properly cared for"