The Pine Ridge Reservation covers a vast area of South Dakota with limited cellphone and internet service, making it challenging for organizations that support families affected by opioid use to share expertise and resources. A grant from FORE enabled 16 organizations across the reservation to come together and share the innovative methods they are developing to promote resilience and prevent substance use disorder and overdose in youth.

The multi-sector coalition includes organizations that specialize in substance use prevention and treatment, healthcare, education, housing, and public safety. Each has a unique vantage point and means to engage Indigenous youth, who experience significantly higher rates of adverse childhood experiences that put them at heightened risk of suicide, depression, and substance use.

In a new video released in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, two organizations that are part of the coalition — Project Venture and the Oglala Lakota Children’s Justice Center — describe how coalition members are working to reduce the risk of suicide and substance use by creating opportunities for young people and their families to engage in Lakota ceremony and culture.

“The families who come to us are hurting. We help them to let that emotion out by taking those who want to through ceremony that soothes the spirit,” says Arlana Bettelyoun, Executive Director of the Oglala Lakota Children’s Justice Center, a child advocacy organization. “It is profound to see how they work through things and develop an appreciation for who they are,” she says.

A HUGE congratulations to #FOREgrantee Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta on today being named a 2025 MacArthur `Genius` Fellow! He has been an incredible partner in working with FORE to tackle the nation`s #opioid and #overdose crisis. We are so, so proud to have been able to support him as he began his innovative nationwide #drugchecking program in 2022. Congratulations, Nab, and we can`t wait to see what you do next!

Although American Indian and Alaska Native communities have been disproportionately impacted by the #opioid and #overdose crisis in the U.S., #prevention strategies often fail to account for culturally-specific practices, tribal beliefs, and impact of historical and present-day trauma. Indigenous adolescents are at particularly high risk. They are not only more likely to die from drug overdoses than all other racial and ethnic groups, but also experience significantly higher rates of adverse childhood experiences, including trauma, that put them at heightened risk of suicide, depression, and substance use.

Communities need evidence-based, culturally-grounded prevention programs to support healthy generations of Indigenous youth. A new video highlights how Project Venture, a FORE grantee, fosters resilience among Indigenous youth living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, one of the largest tribal reservations in the U.S. and also the poorest. The experiential education program engages youth in outdoor adventures, service activities, and leadership training over the course of a school year — a model that’s been shown to reduce substance misuse and promote self-awareness.

The program fosters a connection to Indigenous culture and the natural world as a means building self-esteem and problem-solving skills. It follows a strengths-based approach — creating opportunities for young people to test and expand their leadership skills. FORE funding has enabled nearly 600 students to participate in the program over the last three years; an evaluation found increases self-reported measures of empathy and self-awareness. “It’s thanks to FORE that we’re able to accomplish that,” says Alfred Kahn, Project Venture’s executive director.