Native Americans suffer from one of highest problem gambling rates in the United States, according to the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.
The rate of problem gambling among American Indians and Alaska Natives 2.3 percent, St. Louis Public Radio reported. That is tied with Asian Americans for the highest rate in the nation. “Addictions are addictions, and you got to face your problems, so you got to stay aware of the trigger points,” recovering gambler Jack Conrad, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, tells reporter Michelle Tyrene Johnson for the Fixed Odds project. A study from 2005 showed that Native veterans were more likely to be problem gamblers. High rates were seen in the Southwest and the Midwest. Some tribes fund problem gambling programs through their Class III gaming compacts while other make contributions directly to organizations that provide support for people with addictions. According to professor David Patterson Silver Wolf of Washington University, who serves as the director of the Community-Academic Partnership on Addiction, treating such additions often requires culturally sensitive services. “More-traditional Natives are more-healthy Natives," Patterson Silver Wolf, who is Cherokee, tells St. Louis Public Radio. "And you can talk about going back to learning your language, learning your culture. Doing all of those things are protective for health matters.”