Public health experts say it's not surprising Native American families have been so vulnerable to opioid addiction and other forms of addiction.Īcross the U.S., many tribes like the Cherokee faced generational trauma, including genocide and forced relocation. Data released as part of opioid lawsuits show Native American towns like Tahlequah were swamped with prescription opioids starting in the late 1990s. Tahlequah, Okla., is the capital of the Cherokee Nation. So far, they've taken in nine Cherokee kids. "All of the children we've adopted or fostered have been because of that," said Cassie Walker, Gary's wife. Their biological parents got caught up in the opioid crisis that has hit the reservation with devastating force. Mazzy and her 6-year-old brother, Ransom, are both Cherokee, as is Gary. She grins and answers, "Because there's an American Girl doll store." Turns out Mazzy loves American Girl dolls. "Tell him why you want to go there, Mazzy," said Gary Walker, her dad. "So I heard you live in New York?" she said to a reporter who had come to visit. Walking through the grass, she wears a flowing red dress, huge eyeglasses and big boots. "Cows are walking, turkeys, a dog," she said, giggling at her role as tour-guide. Late one afternoon, Mazzy Walker gives a tour of her family's farm near Tahlequah, Okla., capital of the Cherokee Nation. The Walkers have adopted or fostered nine Cherokee kids during the drug crisis. Other Nato members with MiG-29 jets in their inventories include Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania.Mazzy, age 9, and Ransom, age 6, were adopted by Gary and Cassie Walker after their biological parents got caught up in the opioid epidemic. No other allies have yet come forward with a contribution pledge. They will be offered to Ukraine for servicing in its own factories. Slovakia’s 13 MiGs are in various states of readiness and were grounded last August after the termination of a maintenance agreement with Russia. MiG deliveries will not jeopardise Poland’s security as the nation’s air force upgrades to Korean FA-50 and US-made F-35 combat jets, he said. The planes - a dozen or more at the end of their technical lifespan - will now strengthen Ukraine’s fleet of Soviet-era jets. Mr Duda said Poland received the aircraft from East Germany. Those calls were renewed this year when western members of the transatlantic alliance pledged battle tanks to Ukraine, raising speculation that fighter jets would be next. Mr Zelenskyy and his military leadership have persistently demanded war planes since the first days of the war, saying they are essential to driving back the Russian invasion. Ukraine has also been given thousands of small arms, bullet proof vests, medical kits, litres of fuel, granades and other weapons systems. “I don’t have any confirmation from Poland yet that this has happened.” Drones and weapons supplied to Ukraine - in pictures “So far, everyone has agreed that it’s not the time to send fighter jets,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters. The government in neighbouring Nato member Germany appeared caught off guard by Poland’s announcement. “I’m not going to miss an opportunity to plug Poland, who is really punching above its weight when it comes to supporting Ukraine,” Mr Kirby said in Washington on Thursday. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called them “sovereign decisions,” although he said it did not “change our calculus” on President Joe Biden’s decision not to send F-16 fighters, for now. The US expressed support for the deliveries. “Promises must be kept,” Slovakia’s Mr Heger said on Friday, and when Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “asked for more weapons including fighter jets, I said we’ll do our best.” However, the new shipments could add to Ukraine’s fleet with operational jets or spare parts for its own damaged stock. Ukraine has its own stock of MiG-29s and the ageing aircraft do not meet the standard of more modern F-16s or similar models that Kyiv has craved most. “The supply of this military equipment, as we have repeatedly said, will not change the outcome of the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Moscow said in response on Friday that the fighter jets given to Ukraine would be destroyed. The fighter jet deliveries will cross a threshold in sending firepower to Ukraine, as many western allies have drawn the line at warplanes due to the risk of being drawn into a direct confrontation with Moscow.
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