2023-11-09 17:03:06
Jamie Azure (photo: Minnesota.edu)
WASHINGTON (KFGO/PRAIRIE PUBLIC) – The chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa testified before a U.S. Senate committee on how the opioid crisis is affecting his community.
Jamie Azure told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs the opioid crisis is hitting the Native American population hard. He said, on average, 2 North Dakotans die each week from opioid-fentanyl overdoses with the highest percentage of those deaths coming from Native Americans.
“We are very close to losing a generation to an opioid, to a synthetic drug,” Azure said. “We as tribal leaders refuse to allow a generation to be lost.”
Azure said his tribal government has formed its own drug enforcement division to try to stem the flow of drugs. He said it has been successful, but he told the Committee the Bureau of Indian Affairs it must also step up its efforts.
Azure said Congress can help by removing some of the red tape that slows down the BIA in providing help to the Tribes.
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