Indian Country Drug Threat Assessment 2008

This report is a comprehensive, strategic assessment of the threat posed to Native American communities by drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), criminal groups, and gangs and the illicit drugs they distribute on reservations throughout the United States. This report examines the operations, capabilities, and vulnerabilities of drug traffickers who exploit Indian Country and the difficulties faced by federal, state, and tribal law enforcement officials in combating drug trafficking in Native American communities. It also identifies drug abuse patterns and trends most common to Indian Country, highlighting the illicit drugs posing the greatest threat to Native Americans in the United States. This assessment provides a national-level perspective of the drug-related problems facing reservations throughout the country. It also provides a more particularized regional perspective of the drug-related issues that law enforcement, public health, and tribal officials confront in Native American communities.

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Regional Perspectives
   Pacific OCDETF Region
   Southwest OCDETF Region
   West Central OCDETF Region
   Great Lakes OCDETF Region
   New England OCDETF Region
   Florida/Caribbean OCDETF Region
   New York/New Jersey OCDETF Region
   Southeast OCDETF Region

Appendix A. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Regions

Appendix B. U.S. Census Bureau Definitions

Appendix C. Policing and Law Enforcement in Indian Country

Appendix D. Native Americans Committed to Federal Bureau of Prisons

Appendix E. Maps of U.S. Federally Recognized Reservations by Region

Appendix F. Federally Recognized Reservations Covered by Project Interviews

List of Tables

Table 1. Population, Land Area, and Socioeconomic Status of Federally Recognized Reservations in the U.S. and by OCDETF Region
Table 2. States With the Highest Number of Individuals Residing on Reservations in the Continental United States
Table 3. Percentage of Primary Illicit Drug Mentions Reported by American Indians at Time of Admission, 2002-2006
Table 4. Number of Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians at Time of Treatment Admission, 2002-2006
Table 5. Number of American Indian and Alaska Native Individuals Treated for Substance Abuse at IHS Facilities 2001-2007
Table 6. Bureau of Indian Affairs Reporting To FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2002-2006
Table 7. Primary Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians Seeking Treatment for Abuse in the Pacific Region, 2002-2006
Table 8. Primary Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians Seeking Treatment for Abuse in the Southwest Region, 2002-2006
Table 9. Primary Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians Seeking Treatment for Abuse in the West Central Region, 2002-2006
Table 10. Primary Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians Seeking Treatment for Abuse in the Great Lakes Region, 2002-2006
Table 11. Primary Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians Seeking Treatment for Abuse in the New England Region, 2002-2006
Table 12. Primary Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians Seeking Treatment for Abuse in the Florida/Caribbean Region, 2002-2006
Table 13. Primary Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians Seeking Treatment for Abuse in the New York/New Jersey Region, 2002-2006
Table 14. Primary Illicit Drug Mentions by American Indians Seeking Treatment for Abuse in the Southeast Region, 2002-2006
Table 15. Law Enforcement Jurisdiction in Indian Country

List of Figures

Figure 1. Native Americans committed to BOP custody for violent crimes.
Figure 2. Native Americans committed to BOP custody for drug offenses.
Figure 3. Native Americans committed to BOP custody for firearms offenses.
Figure 4. Federally recognized Native American reservations within the Pacific OCDETF Region.
Figure 5. Federally recognized Native American reservations within the Southwest OCDETF Region.
Figure 6. Federally recognized Native American reservations within the West Central OCDETF Region.
Figure 7. Federally recognized Native American reservations within the Great Lakes OCDETF Region.
Figure 8. Federally recognized Native American reservations within the New England OCDETF Region.
Figure 9. Federally recognized Native American reservations within the Florida/Caribbean OCDETF Region.
Figure 10. Federally recognized Native American reservations within the New York/New Jersey OCDETF Region.
Figure 11. Federally recognized Native American reservations within the Southeast OCDETF Region.

List of Maps in Appendix A

List of Maps in Appendix E

Map 1. Federally recognized reservations in the Southeast and Florida/Caribbean OCDETF Regions.
Map 2. Federally recognized reservations in the Great Lakes OCDETF Region.
Map 3. Federally recognized reservations in the New York/New Jersey and New England OCDETF Regions.
Map 4. Federally recognized reservations in the Pacific OCDETF Region.
Map 5. Federally recognized reservations in the Southwest OCDETF Region.
Map 6. Federally recognized reservations in the West Central OCDETF Region.

List of Maps in Appendix F

Map 1. Federally recognized Native American reservations covered by project interviews.

Preface

At the request of the Law Enforcement Task Force of the Indian Affairs Executive Working Group of the White House Domestic Policy Council; the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP); and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ), the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) has produced the Indian Country Drug Threat Assessment 2008. This report is intended to provide policymakers; federal, state, and tribal law enforcement officials; and resource planners with strategic intelligence regarding drug trafficking and abuse in Indian Country.

The Indian Country Drug Threat Assessment 2008 is a comprehensive, strategic assessment of the threat posed to Native American communities by drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), criminal groups, and gangs and the illicit drugs they distribute on reservations throughout the United States. This report examines the operations, capabilities, and vulnerabilities of drug traffickers who exploit Indian Country and the difficulties faced by federal, state, and tribal law enforcement officials in combating drug trafficking in Native American communities. It also identifies drug abuse patterns and trends most common to Indian Country, highlighting the illicit drugs posing the greatest threat to Native Americans in the United States. This assessment provides a national-level perspective of the drug-related problems facing reservations throughout the country. It also provides a more particularized regional perspective of the drug-related issues that law enforcement, public health, and tribal officials confront in Native American communities; for this purpose, regions are delineated along Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) regional boundaries.¹

End Note

1. See Appendix A, Map 1 for regional delineation--no federally recognized reservations exist within the Mid-Atlantic OCDETF Region.

Addresses

National Drug Intelligence Center
319 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Johnstown, PA 15901-1622

National Drug Intelligence Center
United States Department of Justice
Robert F. Kennedy Building (Room 1335)
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20530

Web Addresses

ADNET: http://ndicosa
DOJ: http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/
LEO: https://www.leo.gov/http/leowcs.leopriv.gov/lesig/ndic/index.htm
RISS: ndic.riss.net

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