Indian Health Service ignored signs about a doctor who abused Native boys for decades
Stanley Patrick Weber, an Indian Health Service pediatrician on the Blackfeet and Pine Ridge reservations, sexually abused Native American boys over roughly two decades; he was convicted in Montana in 2018 and South Dakota in 2019 and is serving multiple life sentences. A 2020 independent report commissioned by IHS found several IHS leaders knew of his suspicious behavior but did not act, and he was transferred to Pine Ridge, where he worked nearly 21 years, according to Montana Free Press. A separate GAO report (GAO-21-97) found inconsistent IHS oversight of provider misconduct across its area offices; its three recommendations are now closed as implemented. In August 2025 the federal government finalized an $18 million settlement with 12 victims, bringing recoveries to about $32.5 million for 20 claimants, per the victims' lawyers.
Federal government reaches $18 million settlement over claims it failed to stop an abusive IHS doctor.
GAO-21-97 finds IHS lacks a standardized, national oversight policy to prevent and evaluate allegations of provider misconduct.
OIG review documents IHS's handling of misconduct allegations against Weber and repeated failures to act on warning signs.
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