Page:LewisMeriam-TheProblemOfIndianAdministration.djvu/52

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Findings and Recommendations
25

In the field of the promotion of health and the relief of the sick, the Service now has as medical director a trained, experienced public health officer detailed from the Public Health Service, and a position has been authorized for an epidemiologist. It needs in addition five specialists for consulting and developmental work, one in each of the following fields: Tuberculosis, trachoma, infant welfare and maternity, venereal diseases, and hospital and sanatorium management. In this field profitable use can be made of temporary positions and of the highly coéperative spirit of the Public Health Service.

In the field of formal education but one specialist is recommended at the outset, a person who has high standing in his field and can establish contacts. Many other positions will be required in this field, but it is believed that the best results will be secured through the free use of temporary positions because the Indian Service can draw freely from the United States Bureau of Education, the Federal Board for Vocational Education, and the colleges and universities of the country.

For the fundamentally important work of increasing the economic productivity of the Indians, at least six permanent positions are needed, all concerned primarily with the education of the Indians in production. These six are: (1) An agricultural economist, so that agricultural resources may be evaluated and the program developed with due regard to possibilities; (2) one specialist in cattle raising and (3) one specialist in sheep raising, because so much of the land of the Indians is of economic value only for grazing; (4) a specialist in agricultural demonstration work, who can bring to the Indian Service the knowledge, experience, and contacts gained in agricultural demonstration work among the general population; (5) a person to arrange for increasing production and better marketing of native Indian products, a work which will interest the Indians, permit them to make a distinctive contribution, and materially increase their income; and (6) a specialist in vocational guidance and placement, to aid Indians who wish to find employment in white communities.

To raise the standard of family and community life and incidentally to promote health, three positions are suggested: (1) A specialist in public health nursing; (2) a specialist in home demonstration work; and (3) a person who can bring to the Indian Ser-