Senate Indian Affairs Committee Oversight Hearing on The Problem of Methamphetamine in Indian Country, April 5, 2006. • Webcast | Testimony Panel 1 WILLIAM P. RAGSDALE Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior ROBERT G. MCSWAIN Deputy Director, Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services MATTHEW H. MEAD U.S. Attorney�s Office, District of Wyoming Panel 2 KATHLEEN WESLEY-KITCHEYAN Chairwoman, San Carlos Apache Tribe IVAN POSEY Chairman, Wind River Eastern Shoshone Tribe JEFFERSON KEEL First Vice President National Congress of American Indians, and Lieutenant Governor of Chickasaw Nation GARY EDWARDS Chief Executive Officer, National Native American Law Enforcement Association KARRIE AZURE United Tribes Multi-Tribal Indian Drug and Alcohol Initiative, United Tribes Technical College

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to examine the methamphetamine problem in Indian Country.

Federal and tribal witnesses all described meth as a "crisis." They cited high rates of health problems, crime and social woes linked to the synthetic drug.

Kathleen Kitcheyan, the chairwoman of San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona, said half of babies born on her reservation test positive for alcohol or drugs and a quarter of patients at the emergency room have meth in their systems.

Ivan Posey, the chairman of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of Wyoming, was unable to attend in person. In his written testimony, he said four homicides in 2004 involved meth and a rising rate of drug-related misdemeanors on the Wind River Reservation.

Tribal witnesses said more funding is needed to combat the problem.

Get the Story:
Senate panel told of meth 'crisis' in Indian Country (The Missoulian 4/6)
Meth toll among Indians �heart-breaking� (The Daily World 4/6)
Chickasaw official proposes solution to meth scourge (The Native American Times 4/6)
IHS: Meth Use Reaches Crisis Level (AP 4/6)

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