As the opioid crisis continues to escalate, rural populations and historically disenfranchised populations have suffered particularly high mortality rates. Concerningly, those two demographics coincide in many American Indian communities, where a combination of geographic isolation and economic barriers can both exacerbate the problem and make receiving adequate treatment for addiction uniquely difficult.
But a recent partnership between Native American Bank and a North Dakota Tribe presents an innovative and promising solution to that concerning trend. The Bank is a CDFI owned and operated by Native Americans, which focuses on supporting Indigenous communities.