Sahtu leaders in N.W.T. call meeting on drug crisis

Leaders in the Sahtu say they are taking steps to deal with what they're describing as a toxic and potentially devastating drug crisis in their communities and will be holding a meeting in March to talk about it.

Former N.W.T. MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew, who is also the former chair of the Sahtu Secretariat, said she's scared by the kinds of drugs coming into the communities.

She said there are illegal weapons involved and she's concerned about the potential for violence.

"Money is at root of this," said Blondin-Andrew.

"People will do anything to get a fix.We're right on the cusp of what happens when you have a combination of drugs, greed, just a lack of concern about others and a tendency for violence."

The devastating effects of the illegal drug trade have already been felt in other communities in the North in recent years, where people have died from overdosesor been killed in drug deals gone wrong. In some N.W.T. communities, there have been instances of people taking matters into their own hands and attempting to run suspected drug dealers out of town.

In the past year, RCMP records show they have seized cocaine and psilocybin in Sahtu communities, but a spokesperson said that data only represents the drugs they've been able to stop.

What communities are experiencing now is different than the recreational drug use of the past, Blondin-Andrew said.

"This is something that will destroy the base of any community economically, socially, medically, culturally, you name it."

Crack, illegal weapons seized

On Jan. 12, RCMP seized 22 grams of suspected crack cocaine, along with alcohol andcash, destined for Fort Good Hope.

That same day, CBC has learned, police also got a call from someone in the community about a suspicious package they received.

It wasn't addressed to anyone in the household and police say it contained weapons including a semi-automatic gun that was illegally modified to make it easier to tuck into a belt or bag.

Charles McNeely,the current chair of theSahtu Secretariat, said they've already lost several young people to drug addiction, and he's concerned for children caught up in their parents' addiction.

That includes members of his own family.

"If they do have money, they're spending it on the drugs and the youth are being neglected that way," he said.

Pursuing a community-driven response

Blondin-Andrew and McNeely are working with other Sahtu beneficiaries, reviving some community-driven work they started a few years ago.

At that time, they travelled to a recovery conference in Calgary to get some ideas.

It was around the time a young non-Indigenous man died of an overdose in the Sahtu. Blondin-Andrew said that's when she really began educating herself about addictions and interventions.

"I was devastated. I was devastated because I knew he had issues, but he really tried to survive and overcome his issues."

They want to create a guiding plan for communities, and workshops on how to deal with addictions and drug-dealing.

McNeely said he understands what people are dealing with. He got sober from alcohol 20 years ago, and said Blondin-Andrew was instrumental in that.

So was getting out on the land with the late Charlie Barnaby.

"There's other elders that are out there that really can help us. So we're looking at our elders. They're the ones that we follow for direction."

'Every child, every young person, every elder'

The RCMP's staff sergeant in Inuvik, Jesse Aubin, recently told CBC police are working on enforcement across the N.W.T., but they need help from communities to cut off the demand for drugs.

Blondin-Andrew also said everyone in every community has a vested interest in people's recovery.

"We need to go from the ground up, every child, every young person, every elder, every leader," she said.

She said she doesn't want to see drugs and addiction sideline the progress Sahtu communities are making on self-governance.

"We need our people to be strong in our culture and we need our people to be good in science, technology, engineering and math andwe can't have that if we are not well."

McNeely has called a meeting of Sahtu leaders in early March, to talk about this issue.

He also sent a letter earlier this month to Indigenous leaders to come together and work on a solution to the drug problem in their communities.