Senate Approves Equal Access to Anti-Meth Programs for Tribes

In a recent Bureau of Indian Affairs survey, 70 percent of tribal law enforcement agencies indicated that meth is the greatest public safety threat to their reservation.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The U.S. Senate has approved Oregon Senator Gordon Smith’s legislation granting Native American communities equal access to federal funds to combat methamphetamine. Tribes were unintentionally left out as eligible program applicants in the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005.

“Meth use has a devastating impact on our communities and Indian country is no exception,” Smith said. “We are finally correcting the law to ensure Native American communities have full access to all the tools needed to fight the spread of meth.”

Last week, Senator Smith hosted the Fifth Annual Oregon Tribal Summit with tribal leaders from Oregon’s nine Indian Tribes and federal Indian Affairs officials. The issue of combating meth on reservations was raised as a top priority during the roundtable discussion.

In a recent Bureau of Indian Affairs survey, 70 percent of tribal law enforcement agencies indicated that meth is the greatest public safety threat to their reservation.

Senator Smith’s legislation guarantees tribes access to federal grant programs aimed at helping local law enforcement agencies and community service programs combat the spread of meth and reduce its devastating impact on the community and children.

The Native American Meth Enforcement and Treatment Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden and 12 colleagues, was added as an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008, which is expected passed the U.S. Senate last night.
Source: Office of Senator Gordon Smith

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Lynn Hart March 4, 2008 3:53 pm (Pacific time)

Hello! My name is Lynn Hart, I am the designer of the original American Indian Anti-Meth posters for youth across America. Please visit my other websites rezswish.com and custerslastsit.com. I specifically designed these posters to be relevant to Indian country because I felt they were unique and would aid in the battle against Meth on and off the American Indian reservations. It’s not going to be the "cure all" but I feel that the families and their youth living on the reservations in America need to use whatever American Indian people can to identify with in their own culture to help combat the use of Meth in their own backyards. So I designed the American Indian Anti-Meth posters to convey this message to Indian country. Meth knows nothing or cares anything about your culture, your race, sex, or spirituality. As a proud member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe I do care about preserving our cultural way of life and all the youth and families living within that sacred circle. I started working on the project last spring or early summer 2007 when I noticed that the posters I saw were all about the after effects of meth; images of white people with rotten teeth and bad hair and nothing specific to American Indian culture. Nothing had an Indian motiff, so I decided to create posters for kids to take home and share with their families and friends and to put up in their bedrooms as a constant reminder to think about the dangers of Meth. Knowing how kids are, if you give one kid something cool and make it fun to have then it becomes another tool to use to get the message across to our youth. My posters are are 11x17" highly glossed and look great! I have them in NM,WA,OR,MT,CO,ND,MN,WI, etc,etc References are available upon request. Again, please visit my website or just call me (605)-491-4598 if you have any questions at all. The posters are very well received and are a positive tool and are effective in showing our youth a strong positive message against Meth in your community. Lynn"Sota"Hart Yankton/Dakota Sioux USMC Veteran Expeditionary Forces In Rediness P.O Box 42 Flandreau, SD 57028 noxcusesnone@hotmail.com

Lynn Hart November 28, 2007 1:17 pm (Pacific time)

Please visit my web site http://noxcusesnone.com

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