Two-day conference hosted at the Sky Ute Casino 

 Keynote speaker Sam Rivera, Executive Director of OnPoint NYC, presented “We are the Medicine” opening the two-day Hope in Healing Native Opioid Summit at the Sky Ute Casino Resort, Monday, March 27 — while at the podium, Rivera wears a set of earrings fashioned from empty vials of Naloxone that were used to reverse two lives in his presence. Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids—including heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid medications — he keeps the earrings as a reminder of the possibilities and hope that access to proper medications and training can provide. A direct link to the miracle of life.  

“Rivera brings to this role his several decades of cutting-edge service provision experience and a commitment to social justice,” according to the OnPoint NYC website. 

OnPoint NYC is a harm reduction organization that provides services to active drug users and sex workers in Northern Manhattan and The South Bronx, many of whom are low-income or homeless as well as of color and LGBTQ.  

Heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid medications pose a risk to communities across America, and the Hope in Healing summit was created for providers to address the issues impacting Native communities in particular — providing knowledge and toolsets to combat the rise in substance use in underserved communities, while fostering an environment where ideas and resources can be shared and elevated. 

Topics covered during the summit included, Drum Assisted Recovery Therapy for Native Americans by George Funmaker, State of the Opioid Epidemic Among American Indian/Alaska Natives by Carolyn Parshall and Kori VanDerGeest of the Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center, a presentation of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe MAT Program by William Finn of the Southern Ute Health Center and Community Opioid Intervention Pilot Project Overview by Cassandra Allen of Indian Health Services.