For decades tribal communities have been plagued by alcohol abuse. However, in recent years they have encountered a new battle, one with abuse of methamphetamines.
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held an Oversight Hearing on Methamphetamine in April 2006.
Some of the testimony was as follows:
- "We are here today to discuss methamphetamine use in Indian Country, and the situation can be described in a single word: crisis."
- "Tribal leaders are suggesting that on their reservations, a whole generation of young people may soon be lost to this one drug."
- "With limited resources at our disposal, many of our communities in Indian Country are at risk of being completely depleted in tackling this epidemic."
A November 2006 report published by the National Congress of American Indians (PDF) states that "Native Americans now experience the highest meth usage rates of any ethnic group in the nation." It also says that "Some of the reasons drug cartels have targeted Native communities are the complex nature of criminal jurisdiction on Indian reservations, and because Tribal governmental police forces have been historically under funded and understaffed."
In October 2005, the National American Indian Housing Council expanded its training on dealing with methamphetamine use in tribal housing communities. It launched a new crime prevention and safety program aimed at providing newly developed training designed to assist tribes and their designated housing authorities in dealing with the growing meth problem in Indian housing.
It is evident that these tribal communities have a huge, rapidly growing problem on their hands. It is a constant struggle for these tribal communities to tackle these up-and-coming battles with the lack of proper funding and no real national media coverage to spur action by others who might be of assistance.
A national print campaign was just announced on November 30 (which just officially became National Meth Awareness day) that is the first of its kind. About $300,000 from a variety of national sources is going into a public awareness campaign that will focus on targeting meth abuse in Indian Country. The campaign will include public service announcements that will be shown in schools and roll out throughout the course of next year. To learn more about the campaign, visit The Office of National Drug Control Policy.
NCPC offers several publications regarding crime prevention in Indian Country. One publication, Hope and Harmony, focuses on "How Seven Native American Tribes Reduced Crime and Violence," and the other two publications are activity books for children with an Indian Country focus. NCPC also offers a publication titled Responding to Methamphetamine. You can find these publications on NCPC.org in the publications section.
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