WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) held a virtual roundtable with Tribal leaders from across Wisconsin to discuss their work combatting the opioid and fentanyl crisis and what more can be done to help Tribal communities save lives.
“Too many families know the pain of losing a loved one too soon to a drug overdose or poisoning. Our Tribal communities are often hit the hardest by the opioid epidemic, and I’m committed to ensuring they have the resources they need to save lives, help those suffering, and keep these deadly drugs out of our communities,” said Senator Baldwin. “I convened a group of Tribal leaders to discuss how federal support I helped deliver is making a difference, and how we can continue working together to combat this deadly epidemic.”
Senator Baldwin was joined by leaders from the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa, Ho-Chunk Nation, Lac du Flambeau Tribe, Menominee Tribe, Sokaogon Chippewa Tribe, Oneida Nation, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.
In 2022, Wisconsin saw more than 1,350 opioid overdose or poisoning deaths, a 60 percent increase from five years earlier. American Indians or Alaska Natives had a higher drug overdose death rate than any other racial or ethnic group, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Increasingly, synthetic drugs like fentanyl are accelerating the rate of drug overdoses and poisonings. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 108,000 Americans died between August 2021 and August 2022 from drug poisonings, with 66 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. In 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services found synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, caused 91 percent of opioid deaths in Wisconsin.
“I would like to acknowledge and say Yaw^ko (thank you) to Senator…
Empty Spaces is a novel by Jordan Abel. (Sweetmoon Photography, McClelland & Stewart)
