25 U.S.C. § 2401 : US Code - Section 2401: Congressional findings

Search 25 U.S.C. § 2401 : US Code - Section 2401: Congressional findings

The Congress finds and declares that -
(1) the Federal Government has a historical relationship and
unique legal and moral responsibility to Indian tribes and their
members,
(2) included in this responsibility is the treaty, statutory,
and historical obligation to assist the Indian tribes in meeting
the health and social needs of their members,
(3) alcoholism and alcohol and substance abuse is the most
severe health and social problem facing Indian tribes and people
today and nothing is more costly to Indian people than the
consequences of alcohol and substance abuse measured in physical,
mental, social, and economic terms,
(4) alcohol and substance abuse is the leading generic risk
factor among Indians, and Indians die from alcoholism at over 4
times the age-adjusted rates for the United States population and
alcohol and substance misuse results in a rate of years of
potential life lost nearly 5 times that of the United States,
(5) 4 of the top 10 causes of death among Indians are alcohol
and drug related injuries (18 percent of all deaths), chronic
liver disease and cirrhosis (5 percent), suicide (3 percent), and
homicide (3 percent),
(6) primarily because deaths from unintentional injuries and
violence occur disproportionately among young people, the age-
specific death rate for Indians is approximately double the
United States rate for the 15 to 45 age group,
(7) Indians between the ages of 15 and 24 years of age are more
than 2 times as likely to commit suicide as the general
population and approximately 80 percent of those suicides are
alcohol-related,
(8) Indians between the ages of 15 and 24 years of age are
twice as likely as the general population to die in automobile
accidents, 75 percent of which are alcohol-related,
(9) the Indian Health Service, which is charged with treatment
and rehabilitation efforts, has directed only 1 percent of its
budget for alcohol and substance abuse problems,
(10) the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has responsibility for
programs in education, social services, law enforcement, and
other areas, has assumed little responsibility for coordinating
its various efforts to focus on the epidemic of alcohol and
substance abuse among Indian people,
(11) this lack of emphasis and priority continues despite the
fact that Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service
officials publicly acknowledge that alcohol and substance abuse
among Indians is the most serious health and social problem
facing the Indian people, and
(12) the Indian tribes have the primary responsibility for
protecting and ensuring the well-being of their members and the
resources made available under this chapter will assist Indian
tribes in meeting that responsibility.