News & Updates — Resources

Although American Indian and Alaska Native communities have been disproportionately impacted by the opioid and overdose crisis in the United States, 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.

As the video illustrates, 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.

Project Venture is one of 18 organizations that have been awarded funding through FORE’s Family- and Community-Based Prevention Program. Launched in 2022, the program aims to increase access to prevention, treatment, and community services for children and families who are affected by substance use. Many grantees are addressing the upstream determinants of substance use disorder by developing a multigenerational, whole-family approach to prevention and supporting youth and adolescents who are risk of experiencing an opioid use disorder or overdose.