By Ledyard King
Gannett Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Indian tribes would see more federal aid for health care and law enforcement activities, but less for housing and construction projects, under President Barack Obama's $3.8 trillion proposed budget plan for 2011.

After a year in which long-underfunded programs for Indian Country saw a significant boost in federal aid, tribal advocates fretted that their programs might suffer when the president announced last month that his budget would freeze some areas of domestic spending in an attempt to slow the growth of the national debt. What they've seen so far, however, gives them some reason for optimism.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs would get nearly $2.6 billion, about 2 percent less than what Congress approved for this year. But the Indian Health Service would see an increase of 9 percent to $4.4 billion. And the budget calls for more aid to combat rampant crime on reservations.

"We're excited to see some support for the priorities that the tribes have set in the last year," said Amber Ebarb, who analyzes budgetary issues for the National Congress of American Indians. "I think we've seen that the consistent message from tribes has resulted in attention from the administration and Congress to (public safety) in particular."

The budget for fiscal 2011 still must be reviewed by Congress, which often makes changes to the president's proposal. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

More than other presidents of recent times, Obama has made it a point to reach out to Indians and steer record amounts of aid to tribes.

He has appointed American Indians to key administration posts, emphasized greater consultation among federal agencies and tribes, and included a hefty increase in aid through his 2010 budget and the economic stimulus package, to the delight of many tribal leaders. In November, he invited them to Washington for a summit to talk about their concerns.

Tempered in part by his plan to reduce the growth of federal spending, Obama's latest budget offers a mix bag for tribes including:

- $864 million, an increase of $84 million, to cover the cost of health care purchased outside the Indian Health Service system. In 2008, there were 35,953 cases that were not funded, often causing patients to delay or defer needed medical treatment or cover costly procedures out of pocket.

- $19 million to hire 45 additional FBI agents to investigate serious crime on reservations. Tribes cite a lack of adequate law enforcement resources as a major issue facing Indian Country.

- $30 million extra to promote "nation-to-nation" relationships by strengthening tribal management of federal programs, hiring more social workers to address unemployment and substance abuse, and providing aid to administer the functions of tribal government.
- $2.5 million for a New Energy Frontier Initiative to assist those tribes whose lands hold active and potential energy resources with their exploration and development.

The budget "supports the administration's goals for developing the nation's energy resources and addressing climate change, while making targeted investments in Indian Country that support tribal self-determination, improve education, protect tribal communities and fulfill the federal trust responsibility to federally recognized tribes and individual American Indians and Alaska Natives," said Larry Echo Hawk, assistant Interior secretary for Indian Affairs.

However, the Native American Housing Block Grant would drop 18 percent to $580 million. And the budget proposes a nearly $52 million decrease in funding for construction projects, such as jails and schools.

That's "disappointing" news to Joseph Brings Plenty Sr., chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in Sioux Dakota. His tribe has been waiting to replace its aging water system, a project with a price tag of about $90 million.

Brings Plenty said the proposed reductions illustrate the need to send federal aid directly to tribes, rather than pass the money through large state and federal bureaucracies, which he said divert money from real needs.

"I'd invite any of those individuals to come out here for a month and live amongst my people and see what we have to do," he said.