Congressional Tribal Trust Responsibility and the Opioid MDL: A Call to Finish the Work the Judiciary Was Forced to Undertake

Congressional inaction has forced Native American Tribes to utilize the judiciary as a last resort to obtain relief from the crippling effects of the opioid epidemic. Tribes have received inadequate funding from settlements to abate the widespread use of prescription opiates on and around their lands of concern. Hundreds of mass tort lawyers have been navigating the In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation (MDL 2804)—one of the largest and most valuable litigation pools in the history of the Republic—in an effort to provide relief for cities and counties, individuals, consumers, hospitals, third-party payors, and federally recognized Tribes. Based on prevailing research, the population most adversely affected by the opioid epidemic is the Native American demographic. This Article will examine the congressional trust responsibility as it applies to Native American Tribes during a public health crisis, like the opioid epidemic, and provide a review of the Opioid MDL and its shortcomings when applied to Native American Tribes. This Article concludes that the judiciary’s limited resources to respond to the opioid epidemic in federally recognized tribal communities necessitates congressional action to fulfill its trust responsibility to Tribes and adequately address the opioid epidemic in Indian Country.