National Tribal Opioid Summit

The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) is organizing a National Tribal Opioid Summit (NTOS), with the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), the National Congress of American Indians, Native American Indian Housing Council, the Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium (SGCETC), and many others Regional, State and Tribal partners, at the Tulalip Tribes from August 22-24, 2023, to address the fentanyl crisis in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

"Opioids were already a concern in Tribal communities before the pandemic which resulted in NPAIHB’s 2019, Tribal Opioid Response: National Strategic Agenda. But the pandemic exacerbated the opioid crisis with the spread of synthetic opioids (also known as fentanyl) across the country, and increased overdoses due to the potent nature of fentanyl. Fentanyl is a major threat to our Tribal communities. Tribes have shared that they have had more deaths related to fentanyl than Covid.

This Summit will be a large working meeting with plenaries and breakout sessions structured to gather input from Tribal leaders, community members, front line providers and responders. The first day of the Summit will include discussions on fentanyl issues within communities, and the second day will highlight Tribal solutions. The third day promises to produce Tribally-led policy recommendations to federal and state officials."

Read the rest of the NPAIHB press release here.