The State - News from Aug. 20, 1986

A proposed federal regulation that would require Indian health care recipients to prove that they are at least 25% descended from federally recognized Indian tribes, or at least 50% mixed Indian heritage, was opposed by representatives of Indian groups who said it would end government-subsidized health services for at least half of California’s rural Indians. The regulation is under consideration by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is designed to eliminate non-Indians from the program. Protesters at a Sacramento hearing said it would deny service to 50,000 to 75,000 Indians because many California tribes are not recognized. Signed treaties were never ratified, they pointed out, after gold was discovered on reservations.