Fentanyl and opioid use has disproportionately impacted American Indian and Alaska Native people and communities.
In the US in 2022, Native American and Alaskan Natives were twice as likely to die of a drug overdose compared to the national average. That disparity is even higher in states like Wisconsin and Minnesota.
“There is no evidence of genetic predisposition to opioid use disorder. Instead, the AI/AN populations’ vulnerability to fentanyl harms can be traced to historical and contemporary policy failures and ongoing theft of AI/AN resources,” states the report “The Impacts of Fentanyl on American Indian and Alaska Native Communities.”
Philomena Kebec is the author of the report. She is a member of the Bad River Band who is currently studying public health at Johns Hopkins. She’s been working as an attorney for many years for tribes. Kebec is the Bad River Economic Development Coordinator and the Chief Judge for the Sokaogon Chippewa Community.
“We need to look at policies and take a critical view of the relationship that the state and the counties have with the tribes, and look for solutions that are based in humanity and data and solving this crisis. This is completely solvable,” said Kebec.
A key part of solving the crisis is gaining more accurate data and analysis of that data.
It’s something Kebec found to be sorely lacking as she was working on this report.
“There's almost 500 tribes in the United States, and there's no real system in place to make sure that people who are enrolled with tribes are being recorded as such. The racial misclassification within these systems, is as much as 60%,” said Kebec.
This data is also often used to determine where state and federal funding should go.
“If we're not being counted as American Indian people, we're being left out of those funding decisions that are happening, and what's likely to happen is that we're going to continue to see very serious disparities,” said Kebec.
There are several things Kebec outlines in the report that would help reduce fentanyl overdoses.
They include more researchers engaging with tribes to improve data. Exploring how the criminal legal system impacts those struggling with opioid use disorder. And, taking a look at how other systems, like housing, can impact overdoses.
“What I know, in speaking with a lot of people in my community, is that not having housing means that they cannot access treatment,” said Kebec. “That they're stuck in this revolving door of drug use to address the pain and loneliness and cold that they experience on a regular basis because they just don't have anywhere to sleep every night.”
The report showcases a couple of prevention and treatment programs within tribes that have found success when cultural connectedness is prominent.
The report calls for more federal funding to support these efforts.
“The fact that our people, our communities, are bearing this disproportionate burden, means that this is just more for us to overcome in terms of making sure that our young people are ready and prepared and entering the workforce and able to have their own families and be successful,” said Kebec.
The report was part of a larger project from the Brookings Institute on the impact of the fentanyl epidemic in North America.
