Maeve Glattes

ESSAY: MAEVE GLATTES

ANALYSIS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE ON NATIVE AMERICAN RESERVATIONS

When I first arrived on the reservation, my mouth dropped. I was overcome with beauty as I saw mountains all around me. I traveled to Browning, Montana, with my mom and two friends with a service group. With our mission to help anyone in need in the community that we were serving, the work allowed me to truly immerse myself in their culture. We worked on a farm owned by one of the pastors on the reservation. As he picked up countless phone calls, I heard and saw many hardships invading their community. One phone call, in particular, sparked an interest in me to comprehend where their battles were originating entirely. While the pastor was on the phone with a child, I heard a quiet and frightened voice of a child explaining to him that his mom was high on meth again and tried to kill their family dog. After the phone call ended, the pastor explained that phone calls related to substance abuse happen more often than we ever thought. While heartbroken, I immediately became intrigued about how and why many Native Americans fell captive to alcohol and drugs. What I saw and heard provoked a more profound question for my research, “How has substance abuse affected the nature of community throughout the Native American Reservations, and what is society doing to address the issue?”

A Brief History of the Origin of Substance Abuse on Native American Reservations

When reflecting on the effects of substance abuse on the Native American Reservations, it is essential to understand the origin of these issues thoroughly. Sources show that these chemical dependencies stem from historical trauma, unemployment and poverty, and low levels of education.

In the 17th century, the race to conquer the “New World’’ began, and many European countries filled ships with colonists and sent them on a quest to conquer this new land. Some countries allied themselves with the Natives already living there, while others sought to steal their land. The Natives faced countless challenges as their land was taken over no matter their efforts. Disease challenged the very survival of the Indians from the beginning. As the Europeans flooded their land, they exposed the Natives to diseases their immune systems had never seen, causing horrific death. These illnesses decimated the Native Americans, wiping out nearly 90% of their population. While foreign disease posed a threat to the Native Americans, they also became vulnerable to the slave trade. Due to the wars between the European nations, Natives who sided with the losing army were commonly enslaved or indentured. Some Native Americans were shipped away from their homes in the United States to other places such as Canada. For decades, these separation tactics that weakened the Native American communities carried on (“Native Americans in Colonial America”).

In 1832, the United States attempted to enforce a treaty that would remove the Sac from their important village Saukenuk located on the Illinois side of the river. The United States Government was faced with resistance by Chief Black Hawk, resulting in the “Black Hawk War.” The US troops eventually routed Indian resistance through a bloody battle and pushed the Sac families from their land. Eventually, the government made a treaty with the tribe that relocated the tribes to the west and removed Indian land claims (“American Indians and Western Expansion”).

While 1832 seems long ago, this removal of Native Americans continued until 1978. On March 3, 1819, the US government issued the Civilization Fund Act that enforced decades of assimilationist policies, leading to Indian Boarding schools from 1860-1978. There were 357 known Indian Boarding schools, and over 1/3 of these schools were managed by Christian denominations. Used as treatment facilities to show Native American people how they should act based on the white civil actions, these boarding schools encouraged the children to abandon their traditional cultures, languages, and practices. While at these facilities, the children were denied access to any contact with family or community members, essentially cutting all access to their heritage. Survivors of these schools have shared countless stories of physical and sexual abuse as well as stories about the lack of food and medical attention that they received. Many students fell ill and died at these schools, and the parents would rarely discover their children’s death until they had been buried in the school cemeteries, unmarked. Of the 150,000 kids taken from their homes and forced to attend these assimilation boarding schools, one study showed that 40,000 perished in the United States alone (Thousands of Indigenous children perished in ‘genocide boarding schools’”). Other countries, such as Canada, used these tactics to help assimilate the Indians into the typical white man culture. Canada later implemented the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2007, and the government apologized and paid reparations to the survivors of these culture-destroying schools (“Death by Civilization”). This break connected with their land, community, and cultural practices developed into problematic coping strategies, such as substance abuse.

The Effects of Drug Use in Native American Communities

Substance abuse of Native Americans has caused many problems through their communities, but the significant increase in child neglect and violence poses the greatest threat to their societies. In a survey of federal providers, the effects of drug abuse on family structures are evident. Of 1,155 children surveyed, 750 expressed signs of emotional and physical abuse and neglect due to the substance abuse of one or both of the parents. This abuse and neglect leads to more psychiatric problems creating a higher rate of children running away from home, getting expelled from school, and using drugs (“Abuse and neglect of American Indian children; findings from a survey of federal providers”). Therefore, substance abuse often causes a continuous cycle as the parents expose their kids to the effects of alcohol and drugs, initiating an addiction of their own.

Additionally, drug abuse on Native American Reservations has caused a significant increase in violence amongst their people. A dramatic increase in violent crimes is evident, and methamphetamine use caused 40% of these crimes. There was also a 64% increase in domestic violence and assault/battery cases as the meth use rates increased (“Methamphetamine in Indian Country: An American Problem Uniquely Affecting Indian Country”). This immense increase in crime contributes to the 5,590 Native American women reported missing in 2019. Considering the large number of women who go missing each year from these communities, the lack of police enforcement has contributed to many unsolved cases. For example, in 2016, 5,712 American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls were reported missing, but the US Department of Justice logged only 116 cases according to the federal missing person database. With both increased drug use and limited law intervention on reservations, the communities are faced with an immense amount of crime, primarily targeting young women and girls.

One missing person case severely affected the Blackfeet Tribe in Browning, Montana. Her name is Ashley Loring Heavyrunner. On June 5, 2017, her life changed forever. Her sister, Kimberly, grew worried when she had not heard from Ashley in a couple of days. She soon found out that Ashely had reached out to a Facebook friend to get a ride into town from her ranch on the reservation. Kimberly and her family grew very concerned after receiving a video of Ashley drinking and talking with people at a party without contact with her. Thus, the search for their beloved family member began. It took two months for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to get involved in the case. Within two weeks of her last sighting, her family began their search throughout the reservation. When someone announced they had seen a young woman running from a vehicle on a highway the same night that Ashley disappeared, Kimberly gathered a large group of people to search the northern edge of the reservation. Kimberly and a family friend found a torn sweater and bloody boots. After this discovery, the same eyewitness revealed the same accessories of Ashley’s outfit the night that she disappeared. These pieces of evidence were handed over to law enforcement for a DNA test, but the family shared that they still have not received test results (“Annual Walk held for Ashley Loring Heavyrunner, who vanished on Montana reservation in 2017”).

Deeply affected by the disappearance of Ashley Loring Heavyrunner, the Blackfeet Tribe in Browning, Montana, holds an annual community gathering known as “Ashely’s Walk” on June 12. This event not only honors Ashley and the joy she brought her community, but it also brings awareness to other missing indigenous people and provides a time for healing. On June 12, 2021, the annual walk also consisted of searches for Leo Wager, a 26-year-old, and Arden Pepion, a 3-year-old, both of whom disappeared in April that same year (“Annual Walk held for Ashley Loring Heavyrunner, who vanished on Montana reservation in 2017”). Ashley Loring inspired actual change in Native American society. Her disappearance motivated young women to join the Blackfeet Nation Boxing Club located in Browning, Montana.

Blackfeet Boxing Club was opened in 2003 by Frank Kipp, a beloved Blackfeet Tribe member. The initial intent of the boxing club was to provide a haven for troubled kids as an attempt to keep them away from drugs and alcohol. Over time, the club became a refuge for young girls and women on the reservation. Here, Kipp taught them how to stand up for themselves and provided necessary lessons on self-defense. Living in a world of danger and violence as drug abuse increased, young girls and women became seemingly easy targets. In 2017, Ashley Loring Heavyrunner inspired the young girls around the reservation to avoid any of the same trauma that she may have endured (“How the Blackfeet Nation Boxing Club is fighting to save the lives of Native American women”).

In 2015, the daughter of Frank Kipp, Donna Kipp, went professional with her new passion in boxing. She was a bronze medalist in the 2015 Junior Olympic Nationals. Her success outside of the community brought awareness to the violence that flooded the reservations as substance abuse created a dangerous community with a lack of safety for the tribal members. (“How the Blackfeet Nation Boxing Club is fighting to save the lives of Native American women”).

Ways to Help Promote Beneficial Change to Limit the Effects of Substance Abuse on these Reservations.

While substance abuse seems like a societal issue, the problem lies in systemic problems. Therefore, two significant ways of decreasing the rate at which Native Americans are using include reducing poverty and increasing education. Though women make up about 50% of the population, the pay gap between Native American Women and other workers has caused destructive poverty, further enhancing the grip of substances on the community. One study found that Native American women make 40% less than white, non-Hispanic men working comparable hours. Therefore, for each dollar a white man makes, a Native American only makes 60 cents. This pay gap forces Native American women and many families into poverty. Showing this systemic issue also highlights that poverty is not a personal choice; it is a political outcome. To ensure that women are treated equally in the workplace, the government is attempting to pass the Build Back Better bill. Also, under the Biden administration, Representative Rosa DeLauro introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act to help reduce paycheck discrimination and strengthen equal pay protections under federal law. After being filibustered by the Republicans in the US Senate in 2021, Congress continues to prioritize this bill to help bring the Native American population out of poverty (“How the Government Can End Poverty for Native American Women”).

Along with poverty, the education system provided to Native American children has caused immense poverty throughout their communities. Studies have shown that Native American children are estimated to be around 2-3 grade levels below white children in reading and mathematics. Also, another study showed that Native American kids are 237% more likely to drop out of school and 207% more likely to be expelled from school than white children. Lastly, a study showed that

for every 100 Native American children, only seven would receive their bachelor’s degree, whereas, for every 100 white children, 34 would receive their bachelor’s degree. These statistics expose the apparent faults in education provided to Native American children living on the reservation. Both low income and lack of concern for public school facilities on reservations have contributed to these low levels of education. Due to the faulty education system, the cycle of poverty continues because of their inability to get high-paying jobs due to their lack of education and experience. Today, the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators (NCNASL) has determined specific policies to help improve these issues faced by the Native American communities. For example, The NCNASL has created policies to ensure preparation in school for the Native American children for the rigors of the new economy and college. This societal alteration will also help put more children into the workforce to bring in more income. Secondly, the NCNASL also believes in increasing the role of Native peoples in the education system for Native American students to make schools a more culturally accepting place for Native beliefs. The NCNASL also believes the inadequate distribution of resources to the Native students allows for the same success rate as other students (“Striving to Achieve Helping Native American Students Succeed”).

Much work needs to occur to allow Native Americans to thrive in this country while not endangering their enriched culture. While our work on the reservation was relatively small, it provided insight for me to understand the systemic problems within our country fully and that the US is not always a prosperous country for all of its citizens.

WORKS CITED “American Indians and Westward Expansion.” Iowa Culture, iowaculture.gov/history/education/ educator-resources/primary-source-sets/westward-expansion-and-native-americans. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. Bender, Albert. “Thousands of Indigenous Children Perished in ‘Genocide Boarding Schools.’” People’s World, 12 Aug. 2021, www.peoplesworld.org/article/thousands-of-indigenous-children-perishedin-genocide-boarding-schools/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. Cavallier, Andrea. “Annual Walk Held for Ashley Loring HeavyRunner, Who Vanished on Montana Reservation in 2017.” NBC News, 12 June 2021, www.nbcnews.com/dateline/family-friendshold-annual-walk-ashley-loring-heavyrunner-raising-awareness-n1270579. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. Culturally-Informed Programs to Reduce Substance Misuse and Promote Mental Health in American Indians and Alaska Native Populations. Education Development Center, preventionsolutions. edc.org/sites/default/files/attachments/Culturally-Informed-Programs-to-Reduce-SubstanceMisuse-and-Promote-Mental-Health-in-American-Indian-and-Alaska-Native-Populations_0. pdf. Accessed Mar. 2018.

Gibson, Charlotte. “How the Blackfeet Nation Boxing Club Is Fighting to Save the Lives of Native American Women.” ESPN, June 2020, www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/29383248/blackfeetnation-boxing-club-fighting-save-lives-native-american-women. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. “How the Government Can End Poverty for Native American Women.” CAP, 22 Oct. 2021, www. americanprogress.org/article/government-can-end-poverty-native-american-women/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. Kaliszewski, Michael. “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Among Native Americans.” AmericanAddictionCenters, 7 Jan. 2022, americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addictionstatistics/native-americans. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. Kettler, Sara. “How Ashley Loring HeavyRunner’s Disappearance Illustrates Issues with Investigating Crimes against Indigenous Women.” True Crime Blog: Stories and News, A&E, 11 Jan. 2022, www. aetv.com/real-crime/ashley-loring. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. Lautier, Amanda. “Addiction Among Native Americans.” Edited by Scott Thomas. Sunrise House Treatment Center, 30 July 2020, sunrisehouse.com/addiction-demographics/native-americans/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. “Methamphetamine in Indian Country: An American Problem Uniquely Affecting Indian Country.” The National Congress of American Indians, Nov. 2006, www.justice.gov/archive/tribal/docs/fv_tjs/ session_1/session1_presentations/Meth_Overview.pdf. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. “Native Americans in Colonia America.” National Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.org/ encyclopedia/native-americans-colonial-america/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. Pember, Mary Annette. “Death by Civilization.” The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/ education/archive/2019/03/traumatic-legacy-indian-boarding-schools/584293/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. Piasecki, J M et al. “Abuse and neglect of American Indian children: findings from a survey of federal providers.” American Indian and Alaska native mental health research : journal of the National Center vol. 3,2 (1989): 43-62. doi:10.5820/aian.0302.1989.43 Simons, Jane. “As Native American Women Go Missing and are Murdered, Who is Keeping Track?” SecondWaveMedia, 18 Aug. 2021, www.secondwavemedia.com/southwest-michigan/features/ As-Native-American-women-go-missing-and-are-murdered-who-is-keeping-track-081821.aspx. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. “Striving to Achieve: Helping Native American Students Succeed.” NCSL, 2008, www.ncsl.org/ legislators-staff/legislators/quad-caucus/striving-to-achieve-helping-native-american-stude. aspx. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022. “Substance Abuse and Child Welfare in American Indian and Alaska Native Families.” NICWA, www. cffutur

GLOBAL VOLUNTEERS

During my Junior year, my friends and I became interested in the Service Scholar program with little knowledge of what it entailed. However, we knew we needed to find an organization to work alongside during our Summer, so I began searching. I took to google for service opportunities in Nashville but found none that I genuinely connected with. Then, Genevieve came to me with this opportunity in Montana to provide service and learn about Native American culture. And so, we decided to take this opportunity and traveled to the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, for one week. I worked with thirteen others in four different locations throughout the reservation. I helped out on a farm, at a children’s camp, a local food bank, and an elderly home, along with getting to experience some Native culture. While completing the service tasks and spending time with community members, I slowly realized how much I was learning about their incredible sense of community, culture, and selflessness.

During my time, I noticed how interconnected and supportive of each other the people were on the reservations. It seemed as though everyone knew each other, and they loved to spend time together and bond with each other in group settings. I hope to bring back this sense of community to my school and beyond, to make genuine, long-lasting relationships with those around me, just as I witnessed on the Blackfeet Reservation.