Latest news with #Tsilhqot'inNationalGovernment
Hamilton Spectator
06-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Community speaks up, remembers loved ones on Red Dress Day
Over 200 people gathered in Williams Lake Monday, May 5 to speak up in the face of a disproportionate number of Indigenous people in Canada, particularly women and girls, facing violence, and to honour those affected. The Red Dress Day event, organized by the Cariboo Friendship Society in partnership with the Tsilhqot'in National Government (TNG), opened with drumming and praying before giving the floor to those wanting to speak about their own experiences and their own loved ones who have gone missing or who have been murdered. 'We are as Indigenous women over represented in this numbers are higher than the rest of the population,' said Rosanna McGregor, executive director of the Cariboo Friendship Society. 'Eighty per cent of the cases at the transition house involve alcohol or drugs - abuse involves alcohol and drugs in most cases, so we have to deal with those systemic issues,' she said. The purpose of the gathering, and of the annual National Day for the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people (MMIWG2S), is to bring awareness to this reality, identify root causes and work towards solutions. In Williams Lake, McGregor said housing plays a role. 'Providing a stable housing environment is a part of this process,' she said. Chiwid House helps provide a safe place for women in Williams Lake, but to then make a plan for what comes next is difficult. 'There's a whole variety of issues why women go back to their abuser and one of those main ones is there is a lack of housing, there is no choice for them,' she said. Housing is only one part of the problem, McGregor added. Addictions and mental health have to be addressed too, and she's been lobbying to ministries involved with justice, housing and social development to help work towards change. 'All of those ministries, we want to ensure they know we are asking for awareness and to be doing something proactive about this particular issue,' she said. In an ideal world, Williams Lake would have lots of complex care housing so that each person is assigned a physician and psychiatrist to help assess an individual's needs and work on a follow-through plan. 'But you also have to recognize people want to be ready to make a change, we can't force have to be ready to stop doing the drugs,' she said. According to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls which concluded in 2019, the crisis arises from the abuse of human rights and Indigenous rights, resulting in the denial of safety, security and human dignity. The inquiry has laid out calls to justice which Canada has a legal obligation to fulfill, including the recognition that health and wellness services must be designed and delivered by Indigenous Peoples as well as the government's obligation to provide necessary resources to revitalize Indigenous-led services. 'These Calls for Justice represent important ways to end the genocide and to transform systemic and societal values that have worked to maintain colonial violence,' writes the inquiry in its report . Learn about the key milestones in the inquiry process on their website . McGregor thanked TNG for their partnership and for the Tŝilhqot'in Women's Council's involvement. She also thanked Williams Lake First Nation for providing cultural support during the event. The following services are available at all times: Hope for Wellness Help Line (Indigenous centered): 1-855-242-3310 Crisis Services Canada : (Canada-wide) 9-8-8 National Family and Survivors Circle : 1-844-413-6649
National Observer
25-04-2025
- Health
- National Observer
BC First Nation at UN demands government help in battling toxic drug crisis
Members of the Tsilhqot'in Nation were at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Thursday calling for the British Columbia and Canadian governments to help expand support services in the battle against the toxic drug crisis. Chief Francis Laceese said the crisis is a "continuation" of threats 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 weren't supposed to be here anymore. The drug crisis is a continuation of this threat to our survival," Laceese said of 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. There had been a meeting recently with BC officials to discuss the crisis and impending closure of a four-bed detox centre in Williams Lake, he noted. Thursday's news conference, which the U.N. says was sponsored by Canada's permanent mission to the world body, came one year after the Tsilhqot'in National Government declared a local state of emergency following a spike in deaths from toxic drug poisoning in its six member nations in central BC. "I think the statistics will show how many people have passed just in our community or at the nation level, BC level," said Laceese, the chief of Tl'esqox First Nation and vice chief of the Tsilhqot'in National Government. Asked about harm-reduction measures such as overdose prevention sites and BC's program that provides prescription alternatives to toxic illicit drugs, the executive director of the Tsilhqot'in National Government said access is a challenge because of the remote nature of many communities. 'We don't have a lot of those,' Jenny Philbrick said of harm-reduction services. 'We're looking for total wraparound services moving forward for our people.' The First Nations Health Authority released data this month showing 427 members of First Nations in BC died of a toxic drug overdose last year. It marked a 6.8 per cent decrease from 2023, but the death rate was still an average of 6.7 times higher than other residents of the province. The health authority's chief medical officer, Dr. Nel Wieman, said that represents "the largest gap" between First Nations members and others since BC declared a public health emergency over toxic drugs in 2016. The Tsilhqot'in Nation said last April when it declared the local state of emergency that toxic drugs, combined with the historical and ongoing harms of colonialism, were contributing to higher rates of overdose deaths among Indigenous Peoples. The statement called on "all ministries and agencies to work together to end this loss of lives" and pointed to a lack of treatment facilities. Chief Roger William with the Tsilhqot'in National Government told Thursday's press conference that they need help to address the crisis "in our own way," in part through culturally centred programming "On-the land treatment processes. Supportive recovery through equine therapy. Funding to support our culture and language," he said. He said Tsilhqot'in members often face racism and discrimination in health-care settings, such as hospital emergency rooms, and they need provincial and federal help to improve access to treatment and recovery services. William said expanding supportive housing is also a key part of the fight against the toxic drug crisis. The basic needs of Tsilhqot'in members must be met in order to stop their "people from falling into using drugs," he said. He said there had been some progress working with government. "We're saying that it's not enough" to address the crisis, he said. William noted his nation is not the only First Nation in BC grappling with the crisis, and others have also declared states of local emergency. "(We) want to find space for all First Nations to come together and talk about solutions," he said. Sierra William, a member of the Xeni Gwet'in community where Roger William serves as chief, also took part in Thursday's press conference. She said smallpox, residential schools and the Sixties Scoop — during which children were taken from their homes and adopted by predominantly non-Indigenous families — had all led to trauma in Indigenous communities. Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission outlined a decade ago what must happen to improve the well-being of Indigenous Peoples, she said. "If the calls to action were to be realized, some of our people wouldn't have a reason to turn to drugs," she said. William said for her, self care doesn't mean taking a bubble bath. "Self care for us is doing things to connect us to our culture, to our ways of life. The exact things (that) were taken away from us through colonization." The Truth and Reconciliation Commission had called for sustainable funding for existing and new healing centres to address the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual harms caused by residential schools, William noted. The commission, which was tasked with researching Canada's residential school system, found the institutions were rife with abuse. The commission estimated 6,000 children died in the schools, the last of which closed in 1996, though experts have said the actual death toll could be much higher. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.
Toronto Star
24-04-2025
- Health
- Toronto Star
B.C. First Nation at UN calling for government help in battling toxic drug crisis
NEW YORK - Members of the Tsilhqot'in Nation in British Columbia are at the United Nations headquarters in New York City calling for the provincial and Canadian governments to fund recovery beds and other supports in the battle against the toxic drug crisis. Chief Roger William with the Tsilhqot'in National Government says they're asking for help to address the crisis in their own way, through culturally centred programming, improving access to treatment and recovery services, and expanding supportive housing.
Winnipeg Free Press
24-04-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
B.C. First Nation at UN calling for government help in battling toxic drug crisis
NEW YORK – Members of the Tsilhqot'in Nation in British Columbia are at the United Nations headquarters in New York City calling for the provincial and Canadian governments to fund recovery beds and other supports in the battle against the toxic drug crisis. Chief Roger William with the Tsilhqot'in National Government says they're asking for help to address the crisis in their own way, through culturally centred programming, improving access to treatment and recovery services, and expanding supportive housing. William says the basic needs of their members must be met in order to stop their 'people from falling into using drugs.' The news conference comes one year after the Tsilhqot'in Nation declared a local state of emergency after a spike in deaths from toxic drug poisoning in its six member nations in central B.C. Chief Francis Laceese says the crisis is a 'continuation' of threats to his people's survival in the form of residential schools and the smallpox epidemic that devastated Indigenous communities in B.C. in the early 1860s. The Tsilhqot'in National Government said last April when it declared the emergency that toxic drugs, combined with the historical and ongoing harms of colonialism, were contributing to higher rates of overdose deaths among Indigenous Peoples. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. The statement called on 'all ministries and agencies to work together to end this loss of lives' and pointed to a lack of treatment facilities. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.
