[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 30, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S489-S490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TRIBUTE TO CAROLE ANNE HEART

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I wish to honor one of the most 
dedicated advocates for health care treaty rights for American Indian 
tribes in my State and throughout the United States, Carole Anne Heart. 
Carole Anne was the executive director for the Aberdeen Area Tribal 
Chairmen's Health Board. The Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen's Health 
Board operates several programs for native people in a 4-State region 
that represents 18 tribes including the 9 treaty tribes in my home 
State of South Dakota. During her tenure with the Chairmen's Health 
Board, programs such as Healthy Start, Tobacco Prevention, and Asthma 
Prevention expanded to serve hundreds of Native

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men, women, and children. With her assistance, the Northern Plains 
Tribal Epidemiology Center opened and serves the tribal nations through 
its many projects and partnerships with the Indian Health Service and 
other Federal agencies.
  A Sicangu Lakota and Ihanktonwan Dakota, Carole Anne grew up with the 
Lakota culture all around her; as a young child, she spent much time 
with her grandmother and great-grandmother, learning the Lakota values. 
She went to boarding school in Marty, SD, and then on to high school at 
Saint Francis Indian School on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. 
Her life's work included water rights and women's rights, and, most 
recently, health care advocacy. As the executive director to the 
Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen's Health Board, she worked to incorporate 
traditional customs into the contemporary programming so the language 
and the culture would continue. She led many conferences and workshops 
around the United States on tribal health care issues. Carole Anne was 
well known for her humor--she would light up a room with her jokes and 
laughter. Oftentimes her sense of humor interjected itself as she led 
some of the most serious discussions on health care disparities. Her 
use of the phrase ``Don't get sick after June'' was in reference to the 
lack of funding the Indian Health Service has at that time of the 
fiscal year which meant that services were unavailable to many tribal 
members. While this is a very serious issue, Carole Anne was able to 
make light of the situation and remained focused on bettering health 
care for native peoples throughout Indian Country.
  Her Lakota name was Waste Wayankapi Win, meaning ``When People See 
You, They See Something Good.'' How fitting a name for someone who 
would spread ``good'' throughout Indian Country. On Friday, January 25, 
2008, after a courageous battle with cancer, Carole Anne Heart made her 
journey to the spirit world. I extend my sympathy to her family and 
those close to her. She will be missed greatly by everyone she touched 
on her journey through this world.

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