Tribes: Settlement in opioids case will foster healing
Money that will flow to Native American tribes as part of an opioid drug settlement with a major manufacturer and three distributors won't come quickly
February 4, 2022, 12:38 AM
6 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleW. Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, poses for a photo, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in front of the Jamestown Healing Clinic, in Sequim, Wash. The tribe is building a full-service health center to treat both tribal members and other community residents for opioid addictions. Earlier in the week, Native American tribes across the U.S. settled a lawsuit against drug maker Johnson & Johnson and the largest three drug distribution companies in the U.S. for $590 million. The money won't be distributed quickly, but tribal leaders say it will play a part in healing their communities from an epidemic that has disproportionately killed Native Americans. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Cheryl Andrews-Maltais takes note of the heart-wrenching dates that remind Wampanoag families that they're still in the midst of the opioid drug crisis — birthdays of loved ones lost, anniversaries of their passing. Then she reaches out with a phone call to the grieving.
“And then you're on the other side of it, and you're bracing for another holiday or event you can't share because of this,” she said.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah, which Andrews-Maltais leads in Massachusetts, was among hundreds of Native American tribes that sued drug manufacturers and distributors over the role they played in the epidemic. One study found Native Americans had the highest per capita rate of opioid overdose deaths of any population group in 2015.
Andrews-Maltais can think of 15 deaths among her tribe of about 500 alone.
Tribes settled with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and the three largest U.S. drug distribution companies this week for $590 million. Lawyers representing tribes hope to reach settlements with others in the pharmaceutical industry, including remaining manufacturers and pharmacies.
Last year, the four companies announced a $26 billion settlement with state and local governments to end all suits. An overwhelming majority of governments have signed on; the companies are to decide this month whether it constitutes enough acceptance to move ahead. The agreement with tribes is to be subtracted from those deals.
Each of the 574 federally recognized tribes are eligible for a share of the settlement money made public Tuesday. It's unclear how quickly the money would flow to tribes, but it won't be much and not until 95% of tribes and tribal organizations that sued agree to the settlement.
“Obviously it should have been more,” Andrews-Maltais said. “The ongoing, cumulative effects are generational, and this money is not going to be generational.”
A special court master and the judge who oversaw the case must develop a formula for allocating the money. Three enrolled tribal members who are well-known in Indian Country will be responsible for administering the funds: former U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Secretary Kevin Washburn, former Indian Health Service acting director Mary Smith, and Kathy Hannan, chair of the National Museum of the American Indian's Board of Trustees.
Tribal leaders say they hope the funding will consider not only population but geographic diversity, access to health care, land mass and tribes' needs.
“One measuring stick that does apply, unfortunately to the vast majority of tribes, is that they are disproportionately impacted by opioids, alcohol and other chemical-generating problems that they had a very difficult history dealing with," said Geoffrey Strommer, whose firm represented some tribes in the settlement.
A 236-page court document filed in the case laid out staggering statistics for tribes related to drug-related crimes and deaths, and noted a long history — including the federal government's attempts to assimilate Native Americans into white society — that has contributed to generations of trauma. Most tribes have struggled financially to address the opioid crisis through law enforcement, courts, social services and health care.
Tribal police agencies said in the court filing that they’ve had to train more officers on how to deal with prescription and synthetic drugs, and arm them with tools to treat overdoses.
