Indigenizing Opioid Harm Reduction Policy

The opioid crisis has disproportionately hit Indian Country due to structural inequities rooted in colonialism, systemic racism, and historical trauma. These inequities are contributing to higher overdose rates and barriers to accessing culturally appropriate health services. In response, Tribal Nations are creating their own legal frameworks and policies to reduce opioid-related harms and overdose deaths and to reclaim health strategies grounded in culture as medicine, self-determination, and community.