WARNING: This story contains details of experiences in residential schools.
The members of the National Government of Tŝilhqot’in were on Thursday at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, asking the governments of British Columbia and Canadians to help expand support services in the battle against the toxic drug crisis.
The vice president of the national government Francis Lacese said that the crisis is a “continuation” of the threats that indigenous peoples have faced in the form of residential schools and the smallpox epidemic that devastated indigenous communities in BC in the early 1860s.
“We should no longer be here. The drug crisis is a continuation of this threat to our survival,” Lacese said about Canada’s residential schools, which separated more than 150,000 indigenous children from their families.
“I think the government has to intervene, especially the Canadian government and British columbia, to help us with this crisis,” he said.
Recently there was a meeting with BC officials to discuss the crisis and the imminent closure of a four -bed detoxification center at Lake Williams, he said.
The press conference on Thursday, which the UN says that it was sponsored by the permanent mission of Canada to the world agency, occurred a year after the National Government of Tŝilhqot’in declared a state of local emergency after an increase in deaths due to toxic drug intoxication in its six member countries in the center of BC.
“I think the statistics will show how many people have passed alone in our community or at the nation level, at the BC level,” said Lacese, head of Tl’esqox First Nation and vice chief of the national government Tŝilhqot’in.
When asked about damage reduction measures, such as overdose prevention sites and the BC program that provides recipe alternatives to toxic illicit medications, the executive director of the national government Tŝilhqot’in said that access is a challenge due to the remote nature of many communities.
“We don’t have many of those,” said Jenny Philbrick about damage reduction services. “We are looking for total wrapping services in the future for our people.”
The health authority of the first nations published data this month that show that 427 members of the first nations in BC died of an overdose of toxic drugs last year.
It marked a 6.8 percent decrease since 2023, but the mortality rate remained an average of 6.7 times greater than other residents of the province.
The medical director of the Health Authority, Dr. Nel Wieman, said it represents “the largest gap” among the members of the first nations and others since BC declared an emergency of public health for toxic drugs in 2016.
Higher drug death rates among indigenous peoples
The nation tŝilhqot’in said last April, when he declared the local emergency state, that toxic drugs, combined with the historical and continuous damage of colonialism, contributed to higher rates of deaths due to overdose between indigenous peoples.
The statement asked “all ministries and agencies that work together to end this loss of lives” and pointed out the lack of treatment facilities.
Xeni Gwet’in Chief Roger William told Thursday’s press conference that they need help to address the crisis “in our own way”, partly through the culturally focused program.
“Treatment processes on Earth. Support recovery through equine therapy. Financing to support our culture and language,” he said.
He said that Tŝilhqot’in members often face racism and discrimination in medical care environments, such as hospital emergency rooms, and need provincial and federal help to improve access to treatment and recovery services.
William said that expanding support housing is also a key part of the fight against the toxic drug crisis. The basic needs of Tŝilhqot’in members should be satisfied to prevent their “people from falling into drug use,” he said.
He said there had been some progress working with the government.
“We are saying that it is not enough” to address the crisis, he said.
William said that his nation is not the only first nation in BC dealing with the crisis, and others have also declared local emergency states.
“[We] He wants to find space for all the first nations to meet and talk about solutions, “he said.
TRC asked for improved well -being
Sierra William, a member of the Xeni Gwet’in community where Roger William serves as a boss, also participated in Thursday’s press conference.
She said that smallpox, residential schools and the scoop of the sixties, during which children were taken from their homes and adopted by predominantly non -indigenous families, had led to trauma in indigenous communities.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada described a decade ago what should happen to improve the well -being of indigenous peoples, he said.
“If calls to action were made, some of our people would not have a reason to resort to drugs,” he said.
William said for her, self -care does not mean taking a bubble bath.
“Self -care for us is to do things to connect with our culture, with our life ways. Exact things [that] They were removed through colonization. “
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission had requested sustainable funds for existing and new cure centers to address physical, mental, emotional and spiritual damage caused by residential schools, said William.
The commission, which had the task of investigating the Canadian residential school system, discovered that the institutions were full of abuse.
The commission estimated that 6,000 children died in schools, the last of which closed in 1996, although experts have said that the death toll from death could be much greater.
A national 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis line is available in 1-866-925-4419 for emotional services and crisis reference for survivors and those affected. Mental health advice and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness Direct Line at 1-855-242-3310 or By online chat.
