ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Federal officials say the scope of the opioid epidemic’s impact on Native American communities is immense and straining tribal resources.
But the toll it has taken also may be greater than what federal figures show.
Citing federal statistics, the Indian Health Services’ chief medical officer told the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Wednesday that Native Americans and Alaska Natives saw a five-fold percentage increase in overdose deaths between 1999 and 2015. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures indicate the increase in that period was higher for Native Americans than any other group.
Indian Health Services’ Dr. Michael Toedt also added that there may be an undercount of overdose deaths among Native Americans and Alaska Natives by as much as 35 percent because death certificates often list them as belonging to another race.
