Two of the state’s largest tribes are hoping that new lawsuits, aimed at holding social media companies accountable, will help address mental health issues sweeping youth across their reservations.

The lawsuits, filed in mid-September 2025 in the U.S. Northern District Court of California by the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations against Meta Platforms and a host of other social media companies, come amid alarming statistics.

In 2022, Native Americans and Alaskan Natives faced a suicide rate 91% higher than the general population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin were among the first to file lawsuits against the social media giants. Their filings in April 2024 state that intentional app features create an addictive and dangerous space for Native Americans both on and off reservations. On college campuses, many are finding that this trend is true.

“You’re coming from an area where everyone knows everybody, and everyone’s in your tribe…it’s so weird to be just like one member of a crowd,” said Leandra LeForce, 2025 Miss Indigenous OU, a Choctaw graduate student and an advocate for the importance of mental health.

As LeForce explained the anxieties that many experience when coming to a major university and the isolation that can accompany it, she also shared her complex relationship with social media.

“I don’t want to be reminded of everything wrong with the world. The second I open my phone, this place that is supposed to be a lighthearted, chill space…shows you the most extreme, terrible, or positive things you could possibly fathom,” said LeForce.

While LeForce has noticed some negative aspects about her social media usage, she also notes the importance it has played in her mental health experience.

“I was an odd duck. But the internet connected me with people who felt like I’m okay, I’m not alone. And that was a step in my mental health journey,” said LeForce.

LeFore is not the only Indigenous student who has a complicated relationship with social media.