Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke talks opioid crisis in Arizona’s Indian country
Mar 19, 2018, 5:25 PM
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
PHOENIX — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had told tribal leaders in the Phoenix area that federal law enforcement will work with them to fight distribution of opioid drugs in Indian country.
Zinke said law enforcement officers from the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and the Drug Enforcement Administration can help tribal police combat the scourge that has proved especially devastating to native communities.
“Among Indian territory, one size does not fit all and there’s 573 nations. Each nation has a unique set of cultures, a unique set of a way to address the issues but certainly drugs as an issue here in Arizona,” he said.
In Arizona alone, Zinke said, 716 people died of opioid overdoses during a six-month period in 2017.
“Native Americans in particular have seen a staggering increase in opioid deaths, higher than any other group in America. So it’s time to not talk, it’s time to do,” Zinke said.
The secretary said federal officials would respect the sovereignty of tribal lands and coordinate with native leaders to determine “the threshold for prosecution” of drug dealers arrested on Indian lands.
“I want to say ‘in coordination’ because it’s important that we act as one, because going nation to nation, sovereignty should mean something,” he said.
“We’re invited guests with our task forces, but we’re going to take our task forces to bear upon the invitation and target drug dealers.”
The Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community was hosting Zinke at its new youth facility in Scottsdale.
A spokeswoman for Salt River said a handful of other tribes had been invited to talk to Zinke about their priorities and self-governance.
President Donald Trump unveiled his plan for combating the opioid crisis earlier Monday, calling for stiffer penalties for drug traffickers, including the death penalty.
The Indian Health Service said the impact is immense.
The agency’s chief medical officer told a congressional panel last week that American Indians and Alaska Natives saw a fivefold increase in overdose deaths between 1999 and 2015.
But Dr. Michael Toedt said the statistics might be more staggering because death certificates often list the wrong race.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
