The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe Indians of Wisconsin has a "severe" prescription drug problem, Chairman Gordon Thayer said in the current issue of the tribe's newsletter.

The tribe has seen nine drug-related deaths in the past year, Thayer said. "This problem is not new; it has been developing for several years," he told tribal members in the February 2013 newsletter.

Part of the problem appears to stem from the clinic on the reservation. An investigation by the Indian Health Service found an extremely high rate of painkillers being dispensed at the facility -- an average of 85 pills per patient.

One doctor in particular was singled out for prescribing painkillers at four times the rate of the next highest prescriber. The tribe has since fired the doctor and also has fired the clinic's director, Gaiashkibos.

"We can’t wait to respond anymore, how many more of our loved ones must die from the prescription drug overdoses before people step-up and say, ‘enough is enough?’" Chairman Thayer said.

The tribe is making other changes at the clinic to respond to concerns raised by the IHS.

Get the Story:
Tribal clinic faces possible sanctions (The Sawyer County Record 2/13)