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On the Hill: Methamphetamine crisis on reservations
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Senate Indian Affairs Committee Oversight Hearing on The Problem of Methamphetamine in Indian Country, April 5, 2006.
• Webcast | Testimony
Panel 1
WILLIAM P. RAGSDALE
Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S.
Department of the Interior
ROBERT G. MCSWAIN
Deputy Director, Indian Health Service, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
MATTHEW H. MEAD
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Wyoming
Panel 2
KATHLEEN WESLEY-KITCHEYAN
Chairwoman, San Carlos
Apache Tribe
IVAN POSEY
Chairman, Wind River Eastern Shoshone
Tribe
JEFFERSON KEEL
First Vice President National Congress
of American Indians, and Lieutenant Governor of Chickasaw Nation
GARY EDWARDS
Chief Executive Officer, National Native American
Law Enforcement Association
KARRIE AZURE
United Tribes Multi-Tribal Indian Drug and Alcohol
Initiative, United Tribes Technical College
|
"Kathleen Wesley-Kitcheyan, Chairwoman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona, came to Washington last week and told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee -- or at least, the four senators who attended -- about what's happening on her reservation.
For starters:
*A baby was born with a deformed pelvis and legs and no feet to a 14-year-old meth user, the Arizona Republic reported.
*A meth-addicted baby was born with legs that are numb and will likely never be usable.
*About a month ago, a pregnant woman on meth was arrested and gave birth in jail to a premature baby, who died.
*Two years ago, a meth-using mother killed her own little boy, saying later that he was the "devil" and "possessed."
*In late 2005, a 9-year-old meth user was admitted to the San Carlos hospital with hallucinations and violent behavior. "We are worried that kids even younger are doing meth," said Wesley-Kitcheyan.
And it goes on: One in four pregnant women testing positive for meth; half of all newborns testing positive for drugs or alcohol; 101 suicide attempts in 2004; even 106 cases of arson.
Wesley-Kitcheyan had mixed feelings about airing such dirty laundry, she said, but police and other local services are overwhelmed, and the tribe is at risk of losing the spirit of its ancestors to the drug. She has 55 grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews, she said, stopping once to compose herself. "I lost one about two years ago on the Tohono O'odham Reservation. A champion, a rodeo champion. He won over 26 buckles. He won over six saddles. The wrong choices cost him his life. He was doing drugs, drinking and was engaged in human smuggling because of the lack of employment.""
Get the Story:
On the Hill: Washington Looks at Meth in Indian Country
(The New West 4/10)
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