SAMHSA awards St. Paul Island tribe $137,161 for wellness court treatment

The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI) will receive $137,161 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to expand treatment and recovery services inside its Txin Kaangux̂ Tribal Healing to Wellness Court, reaching up to 105 tribal citizens with criminal cases over five years. The award period runs from Sept. 30, 2026 through Sept. 29, 2031.

The Tribal Law and Policy Institute's guidance describes a wellness court as a component of the tribal justice system that must be adapted to each tribal community rather than copied from state drug courts.

The tribal government plans to serve 15 to 25 participants a year. Eligible participants are ACSPI tribal citizens 18 and older who are in or facing court cases, most expected to be between 25 and 40. The award description lists alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder, polysubstance use, co-occurring mental health conditions, trauma histories and housing instability among the conditions participants may present.

The court operates in two places. On St. Paul Island it serves a population of 320. In the Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough region it serves roughly 1,200 ACSPI tribal members.

Under the grant, the tribal government intends to provide overdose prevention education to all participants. It also intends to provide or coordinate access to FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal medication such as naloxone. Other listed additions include coordination of medication for opioid and alcohol use disorder, clinically informed drug testing, recovery housing referrals, transportation, family engagement, culturally grounded services and Casebook software for tracking participant progress.

A separate Office of Justice Programs award of $899,568, running from October 2025 through September 2030, funds an expansion of ACSPI's tribal court services. The record does not say whether the $137,161 covers all five years.

ACSPI established the Txin Kaangux̂ Initiative in 2015, integrating services for families with child welfare cases involving domestic violence, child sexual abuse, neglect or parental substance abuse, with staff in Anchorage and on St. Paul Island. The tribal government represents about 1,800 enrolled citizens. Its tribal court is separate from the Tribal Council and executive branch.