Native Communities

Facts

• Homicide is a leading cause of death for American Indians/Alaska Natives. - NIH
• Native Americans experience disproportionately high rates of gun-related homicides. According to CDC data, AI/AN individuals are more than twice as likely to die from gun violence compared to white Americans. —PubMed
• Intimate partner violence (IPV) contributes to many homicides, particularly among AI/AN females. - NIH
• In 2022, there were 596 gun deaths in the AI/AN population (265 were homicides and 275 were suicides). This was an increase from previous years. - Violence Policy Center
• Youth Vulnerability: AI/AN youth are especially at risk, with elevated firearm suicide and homicide rates compared with many other groups. —CDC
• Domestic Violence: AI/AN communities experience high rates of intimate partner violence, and firearm access can increase the lethality of domestic violence. —NIH/NCBI
• One study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 38.8 percent of AI/AN women who are murdered by an intimate partner are killed with a firearm. —Petrosky et al., 2017
• Important note: Statistics for AI/AN gun-related violence can be skewed because not all death certificates provide this information accurately; AI/AN individuals can be identified as Hispanic or Black.

Possible Solutions Underway

Community-based and tribal-led initiatives include:

• Community firearm safety campaigns
• Culturally appropriate mental health services
• Federal funding for research
• Partnerships with researchers and tribes to improve data quality and culturally tailored interventions
• Federal legal empowerment
• Targeted funding
• Tribal access to justice systems
• Investigative support
• Public-health-informed and culturally grounded community interventions.

Groups involved with reducing firearm deaths among AI/AN communities include:

• Native Health (NAHC) - Youth programs, trauma healing, health equity.
• Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) - Suicide prevention and rural firearm injury care.
• StrongHearts Native Helpline - Domestic violence crisis support and firearm risk reduction.
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) - Training and suicide prevention tools.
• Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions - Research and tribal policy analysis.
• Giffords Law Center — Policy development and AI/AN firearm violence reporting.
• Tribal Law and Policy Institute - Tribal firearm laws and justice resources.
• Native Connections (SAMHSA) - Youth suicide prevention and community wellness.