Officials: Native Americans dying younger

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Officials: Native Americans dying younger
www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/153384\
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<http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/15338\
406.htm?source=rss&channel=myrtlebeachonline_local> ROCK HILL - South
Carolina's Native Americans are dying younger largely because of chronic
illnesses exacerbated by poverty, officials say. Elderly Catawba Indians
can receive some free health care services at a reservation clinic, but
funding is limited. A loss of federal grants to South Carolina's only
federally recognized tribe means less medicines and transportation are
getting to them. Those with more serious health concerns are referred to
other doctors. "They provide what they can, but sometimes the funding is
not there for everything," tribal executive committee member Claude
Ayers said about the clinic. As the average age of Native Americans in
South Carolina declines, the state loses a generation of cultural
knowledge. "Our elders are precious to us, and we know we are losing
them young," said Barbara MorningStar Paul, Native Affairs coordinator
for the state Commission for Minority Affairs. "We are losing many of
them before age 65." She will discuss the "crisis level" of health care
among Native American elders during the 30th annual Summer School of
Gerontology today in Myrtle Beach.