Task force: More money needed to protect American Indian children

A federal task force formed to assess the effects of violence on American Indian and Alaskan Native children has concluded that more funding and more tribal control of programs are needed to protect them.

The task force found American Indian children suffer from post-traumatic stress at the same rate as veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan — triple the rate of the general population.

Former U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who co-chairs the task force, said Congress has failed in its treaty obligation to protect children.

"Don't consider the funding necessary to keep those promises discretionary," Dorgan said. "It's not discretionary. You have a requirement to do it. And the failure to provide the funding means that there are a great many children out there who are living in circumstances of violence and we just need to fix that."

The report was sent to Attorney General Eric Holder and Congress on Tuesday.

Dorgan said more funding will be a challenge in the current political climate, with Republicans and Democrats divided on many issues.

"All we can do is continue to push and push," he said. "But we'll get there at some point, and I hope sooner rather than later, because later means that the children continue to pay the price."