Approvals expected in 2027
Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression leads the pipeline. Approved products will likely require certified sites and trained staff.
Helping Tribal health systems prepare for psychedelic medicine.
The Eighth Fire is a Native-led coalition working with Tribal Nations through education, training, research, and support for each Nation's sovereignty.
Why this work, and why now
The first FDA-approved psychedelic medicines are expected as early as 2027, and federally funded ibogaine research is already underway. But Native people are largely missing from the clinical data, and from the rooms where the rules are being written.
The Eighth Fire exists to close that gap, so Tribal Nations aren't left to inherit models designed somewhere else.
Federal research underway
Federally funded ibogaine trials for opioid use disorder are being designed now, aimed at the same crisis Tribal treatment programs meet every day.
Tribes not yet heard
Of roughly 80 comments at the FDA's September 2026 public hearing on psychedelic drugs, none came from a Tribal government or Tribal health system.
As these medicines enter mainstream healthcare, the question is not only whether Tribes will have access, but whether Indigenous knowledge and authority will have a meaningful place in how they are understood and used.
The need in our communities
Before these medicines had clinical names, our people carried them. Today the evidence is most promising for trauma, substance use disorders, and depression, conditions that weigh heavily on Native communities.
~20%
Mental health
of American Indian and Alaska Native adults experience a mental health condition each year.
19.7%
Psychological distress
report serious psychological distress, about 2.5× the U.S. rate.
8.5%
Suicide
report serious thoughts of suicide, vs. 4.8% nationwide.
2–3×
PTSD
more likely to develop PTSD than the general population.
~10%
Substance use
live with a substance use disorder; nearly 25% binge drank in the past month.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022, 2024; Nguyen et al., 2024; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], 2016; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2018, 2022; Yellow Horse Brave Heart et al., 2023.
Our work
Four areas of work, each built for Tribal health systems and the people they serve.
Education
Practical briefings for Tribal leaders and health system staff on what's coming and what it means for their Nation.
Training
Preparing the clinicians, behavioral health teams, and pharmacy staff who will be asked about these medicines first. Each Nation decides who practices within its jurisdiction.
Research
Studies under Tribal IRB review that produce evidence specific to Native populations, including how people are prepared for and supported after treatment.
Sovereignty
Supporting each Nation in deciding, with IHS and federal agencies, how these medicines should be handled for its own people.
Working with Tribal Nations
Each of these is open-ended. None commits a Nation to the next.
Start a conversationWhere the work stands
Fall 2026
Coordinating Tribal input to the FDA's request for information on early ibogaine research, so Tribal voices help shape safety and eligibility standards.
Federal research
Working with Scottsdale Research Institute on an FDA ibogaine research application that, to our knowledge, is the only one centering Indigenous considerations in its design.
January 2027
A funded observational study begins following Tribal members receiving ibogaine treatment through an established clinic partner, designed for Tribal IRB review alongside University of Oklahoma review.
April 2026
Oklahoma's Five Civilized Tribes unanimously supported state and federal ibogaine research through an Inter-Tribal Council resolution.
We work alongside Americans for Ibogaine and research partners including Scottsdale Research Institute and the University of Oklahoma.
About us
About The Eighth Fire
Our mission is to help Tribal Nations prepare for and lead the arrival of psychedelic medicine, bringing Indigenous and Western knowledge into right relationship so each can inform and strengthen the other.
Our name comes from an Anishinaabe prophecy of an era when Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples come together to walk a shared path of healing, respect, and restoration. We bring Native voices, clinical and scientific experts, and non-Native allies together in that spirit.
Our values
Sovereignty
Tribes lead. The Eighth Fire is guided by Tribes, not an organization that speaks for them. Research is reviewed by Tribal review boards, and each Nation has a say in how its data is used and shared.
Integrity
Traditional and clinical approaches each meet their own highest standard, and each keeps its own integrity.
Reciprocity
What the work receives from knowledge holders, participants, and funders is returned. Standards are published openly, and knowledge stays with the communities that hold it.
Reverence
The medicines, the land, and the people seeking healing are sacred. This is healing work first.
Our team
Leadership and advisors
The coalition is being built with Tribal Nations at the center and is open to every Nation that wants to take part.
Founder and CEO
Michelle Driver, MA
Citizen of the Choctaw Nation. A clinical mental health counselor specializing in crisis, trauma, and psychedelic-assisted therapies, Michelle serves as Program Director on Scottsdale Research Institute's FDA ibogaine research and as a Clinical Ambassador for Americans for Ibogaine.
Advisor
Dr. Lisa G. Byers, MSW, PhD
Cherokee Nation. Teaches American Indian Behavioral Health at the University of Oklahoma.
Advisor
Zachary Feist, LMHC, LPCC
Clinical Director, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.