Fentanyl’s impact on Native American communities and paths to recovery

In this episode, host Vanda Felbab-Brown speaks with Philomena Kebec, economic development coordinator for the Bad River tribe, about the particularly devastating impact of the fentanyl epidemic on American Indian and Alaska Native communities. In the United States, Native communities experience the highest drug overdose mortality rates among racial groups, with fatalities far surpassing national averages. But the sheer numbers do not capture the totality of the devastation, such as the cultural losses and community grief. Yet federal and state responses to the fentanyl crisis among Native communities have been profoundly inadequate. Kebec emphasizes the urgent need for greater resources, culturally tailored and evidence-based care, and greater decision-making authority for Native communities.

Show notes and transcript.

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