The people of the Kehewin Cree Nation, a community of 1,400 members located just 25 kilometers south of Bonnyville, have issued a state of emergency. This decision follows their growing concern of the worsening opioid epidemic imposed on their community. Community leaders and members are making changes to address the devastating effects of addiction. They’re seeking to inform the entire community of their imposing a dry community – enforcing a new strict bylaw banning drugs and alcohol on the reserve.
Opioid-related harm has woven itself into the very fabric of our community, each personal story ringing with the tragic urgency we cannot ignore. Kathleen Dion, a mother mourning the recent loss of her son Bradley Whitstone, highlights the heartbreaking impact that addiction has on families. She maintains that Bradley’s troubles began following his father’s passing in 2022. To some extent, this tragic event set him on a course of substance abuse that ultimately took his life.
We’re fed up watching our people suffer,” Brittany Wright, a member of the Section’s Illicit Drugs and Alcohol Committee, stated. The grief that we are going through right now is just too much to bear. The collaborative nature of the committee’s work has led to an increased capacity to address these issues collectively in the community. They are providing support to families affected by addiction.
The new bylaw will come down hard on anyone found selling, including similar consequences if the drugs or alcohol are abused. Offenders will have strict penalties including elimination of housing benefits and community service. Band councillor Tyler Youngchief, who was elected after running on an anti-drug platform across the drug epidemic on First Nations, is in favour of this initiative. He argues that it is time for bold action to be taken against those who enable and profit from the drug crisis in their backyard.
“If you’re dealing with drug dealers, you shouldn’t be able to keep your home,” Youngchief stated.
Committee member Brittany Mountain shares her concerns about keeping kids safe in Whitefish. As a mother of four herself, she says she’s always been especially impassioned by this issue. She importantly adds that drug users frequently walk through neighborhoods and endanger children who might be playing outside.
My heart is in my stomach when these kids are out riding. Now we have active drug users trespassing through our yard. She explained, “They’d sometimes yell at the kids and litter on our yard.”
These voices speak to a deepening anger among community members tired of failed attempts to combat addiction. “We hear people talking all the time about wanting to make changes on the reserve, and nobody ever does anything about it,” Mountain said. “They complain a lot about it but they never have a resolution.”
Together in May, we mourned the loss of a 26-year-old community member to violence. She ultimately lost her decade-long battle with addiction, leaving behind a four-year-old daughter, making the stakes in this crisis very real and personal. Residents like Dion are already missing the emotional toll. She describes quite colorfully the transformations she observed in her son as his addiction took hold.
“The dark circles around his eyes, his face was swelling. It just wasn’t him. I could tell there was something wrong,” Dion recounted. “I wish I could change that day, but I can’t.”
As community members come together to fight this crisis, we can build a better and safer future. Youngchief knows a grassroots approach is key to making meaningful change. “I pushed them and I told them I would support them,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get something going. So it’s encouraging to know that’s being driven by the citizens of the Nation.
Many others argue that restricting access to substances won’t actually stop addiction from happening. All seem to agree that this move is a key one on the road to restoring trust.
“No matter what kind of drug or addiction there is, there’s always going to be some way to supply it,” Dion noted. “But if you can limit the interactions in your community, then you can help people get past it.”
Adoptees and other community members are still committed to continuing to fight this injustice. They are committed to developing a healing-oriented environment that fosters recovery. They want future generations to succeed, without the burden of addiction holding them down.
