Native American Health

Join Health Dialogues as we examine the health of Native Americans in California. Have gambling revenues impacted the population's health status? We'll explore the current condition of Native American health, and hear from people doing something to help.

Sarah Varney

Sycuan Medical and Dental Center

Host Sarah Varney visits the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, to take a tour of the Sycuan Medical and Dental Center on the tribe's reservation. Guest: Daniel James Tucker, chairman of the Sycuan Tribe. Guest: Sal Falco, administrative director of the Sycuan Medical and Dental Center.

Gaming in California

Sarah Varney speaks with two gaming experts, one a scholar, the other a critic, to give some context to California gaming revenues for Native American tribes. Guest: Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, at the University of Nevada, Reno. Guest: Cheryl Schmit, executive director of Stand up for California!, a gaming watchdog group based in Sacramento.

Kelley Weiss

United Indian Health Service

Health Dialogues heads up to rural Northern California to see what impact casino revenues have had at the United Indian Health Service, a non-profit tribal health consortium that serves nine tribes. Reporter: Kelley Weiss

The California Rural Indian Health Board

Host Sarah Varney learns about the California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB), an advocacy and policy group for Indian health care issues in California. Guest: James Crouch, executive director of the California Rural Indian Health Board.

Tobacco Use in Native Communities

Health Dialogues looks at the tension between the ceremonial use of tobacco and the damaging effects of its recreational use. At least 20 percent of American Indians in California smoke. A new report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research calculates that the cost of smoking - in health care and lost productivity - adds up to nearly 800 million dollars per year. Reporter: Ilsa Setziol

• More: Costs of Smoking and Secondhand Smoke Exposure in California American Indian Communities : Read the report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

Shuka Kalantari

Prenatal Care

Health Dialogues looks at the low rates of prenatal care for Native American women in California, and why it is hard to change the numbers. Reporter: Shuka Kalantari

Budget Cuts and Native American Health Care

Health Dialogues examines what just happened to funding that directly affects Native American health care in California. Reporter: Kelley Weiss

In Our Words

In this special web-extra feature, listen to four Native American women describe their experiences and thoughts on health care serving their communities.