It just became a meaningless effort,'' she says. Among the more than 550 federally recognized tribes, adolescents have even more to contend with. Indians under 15 are murdered at a rate twice that of white teen-agers. Arrests of Indians under 18 for alcohol-related crimes are twice the national average. With jobs scarce on reservations, poverty and unemployment levels are the highest in the nation.
Alcoholism is an epidemic, and domestic violence is soaring.
N.M. The treatment center is only one of two facilities on the Navajo reservation to help troubled youth. Located on the northeastern edge of the Navajo reservation, the center treats about 80 Indian teen-agers annually for chemical dependency and mental health problems. Most of the patients don't speak Navajo and know little about their culture, Goodluck says. Indian youth offer other reasons for turning to crime, alcohol and drugs. Try isolation, and sheer boredom.