Thirteen tribal nations and two organizations across Oklahoma are set to receive a combined $31 million in federal grants aimed at expanding mental health and substance use prevention services, with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma landing the largest share of the funding. The money will pay for everything from trauma-informed care in schools to a peer recovery support specialist trained to work with people at risk of substance use or mental health crises.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the awards, which include $2.2 million specifically for the Choctaw Nation, according to KOSU. That money will fund trauma-informed services in schools, tribal behavioral health substance use prevention efforts, and support for 988 Tribal Response Cooperative Agreements. The federal 988 program itself is far from small: SAMHSA awarded $383.4 million in nationwide behavioral health grants on September 8, including $19.9 million earmarked specifically for 988 Tribal Response Cooperative Agreements meant to improve crisis response in Native communities, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Project Embrace Expands Beyond Suicide Prevention
Part of the Choctaw Nation's award will go toward Project Embrace, an initiative that historically focused on suicide prevention but now also assists with substance use prevention, the station's report notes. The new federal funds will let the tribe hire a prevention-based peer recovery support specialist who will work directly with individuals at risk of substance use or mental health conditions.
Lacey Callahan, the Choctaw Nation's behavioral health operations manager, said Project Embrace historically focused on suicide prevention and now also assists with substance use prevention. Callahan called the 988 crisis line a lifeline and said there should be no shame in seeking mental health resources, adding that mental health care is for the brain, well-being and overall spirit, per the same account.
The Choctaw Nation also received federal funding to develop and enhance behavioral health infrastructure within its school-based services through Project AWARE, which will fund the hiring of a behavioral health therapist, a case manager, and a project director for an education summit focused on teaching education providers about mental health.
A Reservation Already Strained by Overdoses
The scale of need in southeastern Oklahoma is significant. The Choctaw Nation Health Services Authority operates a hospital in Talihina and eight regional clinics across its reservation, logging more than 1 million patient encounters in 2024, according to Biskinik. Two counties within that reservation ranked among the top five in Oklahoma for opioid overdose deaths in 2023, a factor that has driven the tribe toward digital recovery apps and peer support networks, per CHESS Health.
Twelve other tribes and two organizations are sharing in the remaining awards, including Butterfly Rain New Beginnings Inc. in Tahlequah and the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board Foundation in Oklahoma City. Among them is the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, which is receiving a nearly $1 million grant to support its own 988 Tribal Response Cooperative Agreement work, per KOSU's reporting.
Tribal Leader Points to a Community in Crisis
Tasha Mousseau, vice president of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and a member of the National Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup, said suicide and mental health challenges run rampant, particularly in her community. The 988 crisis line, accessible by calling or texting 988 anywhere in the nation or online through a counselor at 988lifeline.org, offers support for mental health, suicide and substance-abuse-related problems at all hours. Tribal response funding, per the same account, means more culturally competent care and stronger backing for 988 crisis centers, tribal nations and organizations.
The stakes behind that funding are stark. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives ages 10 through 24, and the eighth leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives of all ages, KOSU reports. Nationally, non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native people maintained the highest suicide rate in the country in 2024, at 22.5 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among high schoolers, 24.5 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native students reported seriously considering suicide in 2023, compared to 20.4 percent of students overall, per the HHS Office of Minority Health.
A Legal Duty, and a History of Funding Whiplash
Federal officials frame the grants as part of a broader legal obligation. The U.S. government has a trust responsibility to provide health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives, a duty rooted in the Snyder Act of 1921 and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, according to testimony from the Indian Health Service. An analysis by the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative found Oklahoma held $449.3 million in active SAMHSA grants as of March 2025, with more than half dedicated to services for children, rural populations, and tribal nations — underscoring how heavily the state's behavioral health safety net leans on federal dollars.
That reliance carries real risk. SAMHSA briefly revoked federal mental health grants for Oklahoma tribes in January, including $459,000 for the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, before rescinding the termination letters 24 hours later following national pushback, according to KOSU's earlier reporting. The abrupt cancellation had affected four grants supporting youth suicide prevention and mental health training before it was reversed.
Tribal gaming revenue also feeds Oklahoma's broader mental health infrastructure outside of direct federal grants. Thirty-three tribal nations in the state generated $3.47 billion in Class III gaming revenue in fiscal year 2024 and paid $210.2 million in state exclusivity fees, funds that partially support statewide mental health programs, as Hoodline previously reported. SAMHSA's own guidelines show the FY 2026 988 Tribal Response Cooperative Agreements offer awards ranging from $300,000 to $1.5 million annually per recipient over a three-year project period, limited to federally recognized tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian health centers.
