1959: Congress mandates clean water, sanitary sewers for reservations
Congress authorizes the Public Health Service to provide clean drinking water sources and waste disposal services on reservations. A requirement that communities participate in selecting and building the sanitary facilities is the first experience that tribes have in joint management and decision making with the federal government on any aspect of their health programs.
The Indian Sanitation Facilities Construction Act of 1959 (P.L. 86-121) gives the Public Health Service unprecedented authority to improve water and waste disposal services on reservations, and the tribes an unprecedented opportunity to participate in making decisions about their health care programs.
- Theme
- Federal-Tribal Relations
- Region
- Arctic, California, Great Basin, Great Plains, Northeast, Northwest Coast, Plateau, Southeast, Southwest, Subarctic
Newly installed system to bring clean drinking water to a home on the Navajo reservation, 1966
Courtesy Indian Health Service/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The Public Health Service begins installing indoor plumbing in homes on reservations. In 1965, this family in the Aberdeen, South Dakota area benefited from that program.
Courtesy Indian Health Service/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services