The toxic drug crisis continues to claim hundreds of lives every year in B.C.
Last year, a record high of 2,511 deaths were reported, an average of nearly seven people per day. And according to the provincial government, unregulated drug toxicity is the leading cause of death for persons aged 30 to 59, which is more than homicides, suicides, accidents, and natural disease combined.
Since the public-health emergency was first declared in April 2016, Indigenous communities remain disproportionately affected by the toxic drug crisis, due to systemic racism creating barriers to health care. Despite being only 5.9 per cent of the population, Indigenous people account for 17.7 per cent of overdoses.
In support of the unceasing adversity faced by those individuals and their families, the Lower Kootenay Band (Yaqan Nukiy) recognized National Addictions Awareness Week with their annual Canoe Walk.
In 2012, four Ktunaxa Nation youth helped construct a traditional sturgeon-nosed canoe. Later that year in November, the canoe was walked from the Lower Kootenay Band office to the front doors of the Creston Valley Hospital to signify an ongoing partnership in health.
“Upon arrival to the hospital, the canoe was gifted as an act of truth and reconciliation,” said Nasukin Jason Louie. “As time progressed, the canoe was forgotten about. To forget about the canoe is to forget about truth and reconciliation.”
Last week on Nov. 22, dozens of LKB and Creston community members, along with hospital staff, followed the same route once again.
“The weather was reminiscent of November 2012. It was raining. It was snowing. It was cold,” said Louie. “The walk seemed easier 12 years ago, but my heart has not changed. Truth and reconciliation will be a journey. A journey that we must walk together.”
In 2024, continued partnerships in health care have made steps forward. Interior Health launched the new Indigenous Patient Navigator (IPN) service, working to support Indigenous people and their families with culturally-safe and inclusive care, currently available at Creston Mental Health and Substance Use Clinic.
Learn more at www.interiorhealth.ca/services/indigenous-patient-navigator.
