Indigenous leaders call for addictions help as violence escalates in remote First Nations

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This article was published 18/08/2024 (417 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A northern Manitoba First Nation is pleading for help in its fight against addiction after a rash of alcohol- and drug-fuelled violence on the weekend.

It’s an issue harming First Nations communities across the province, Indigenous leaders say.

“We are trying to help our people with addictions… we want to heal our people, that’s our goal,” O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation Chief Shirley Ducharme said Sunday, as she called for more resources from the federal government and First Nations leadership.

The chief said her community of around 1,100 needs a healing or treatment centre for residents to seek help with addictions and mental-health issues at home. Most people have to go to Thompson or Nelson House for treatment, but the wait times are too long, she said.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Acting Grand Chief Angela Levasseur said addiction is widespread in remote Indigenous communities, and help is needed.

“Acts of violence as a result of the escalation of drugs and alcohol in our First Nations has been rampant in all northern First Nations,” Levasseur said in a statement, adding the organization will collaborate with other levels of government on safety plans.

Ducharme and her council enacted a lockdown at 1 a.m. Saturday in the community near South Indian Lake, about 130 kilometres north of Thompson, following a night of violence.

The lockdown has since been lifted, but the state of emergency remains.

The band council has also implemented a curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for those under 18 and from midnight to 6 a.m. for adults on a daily basis for the next few weeks.

Community checkstops are also being planned to search for drugs, alcohol and weapons while the curfew is in effect.

“There was multiple stabbings in the community that night, and also some serious aggravated assaults, so it was a combination of those incidences,” Ducharme said. “And then, one individual was running around with a weapon, a knife, so that’s when we did a lockdown immediately… to get everyone off the road.”

Ducharme said RCMP have made two arrests connected to unrelated violent incidents, while the third individual, who was in the community with a knife, was talked down via de-escalation tactics.

There was one confirmed report of a stabbing at about 1:10 a.m. Saturday, Manitoba RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said Sunday.

He said a 21-year-old man has been arrested and remains in custody, while the 46-year-old man who was stabbed was transported to Thompson for medical care.

Manaigre said another person reported having been stabbed, but that individual was treated and released from the community’s nursing station.

Another person was arrested in relation to a domestic assault, said Manaigre.

“The detachment, along with the nursing station, had a very busy night with a lot of calls of a violent nature,” said Manaigre, but he added it was not out of the ordinary “in terms of policing.”

Ducharme estimated about half a dozen people were injured in incidents on Friday night and early Saturday.

Ducharme said she and council met Saturday morning and spoke with RCMP, then lifted the lockdown and called for the state of emergency.

“We met with the nurse and the RCMP, and they had identified that especially on the weekend, when there’s money in town, that’s when they find they’re so overwhelmed and busy, all of these incidents happening,” Ducharme said.

She said when money comes into the community, some people in the community will get drugs or alcohol, resulting in violence.

She said the First Nation is seeking extra security personnel to patrol in the community and help run checkstops. She and council have asked MKO about the possibility of redeploying First Nation safety officers to the community from elsewhere.

The small RCMP detachment in the community only has four officers, she said, with only two typically working on a single shift.

The community has a trailer with holding cells, but no guards. The nursing station has just two nurses, Ducharme said, adding the First Nation is looking to have paramedics come to the community to assist with medical needs.

“What usually happens is, when somebody’s arrested, Leaf Rapids (RCMP) will come and meet halfway with our RCMP and take them to their cells,” said Ducharme.

The chief and council are reaching out to the RCMP, Indigenous Services Canada and MKO in part to seek access to crisis intervention teams and mental health supports, Ducharme said.

Ducharme’s community is not alone in facing violence linked to alcohol and drugs.

In July, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation in Nelson House declared a state of emergency over a shortage of nurses in the community. Leadership in the community said many emergency medical calls were related to “violent and belligerent individuals” under the influence, exacerbating the situation at the under-staffed nursing station.

In late May, Chemawawin Cree Nation called a state of emergency over increasing violence and illegal activity in the community near Easterville. Band leadership enacted a curfew and threatened people found with weapons with banishment, among other measures.

Tastaskweyak Cree Nation, on Split Lake northeast of Thompson, declared a state of emergency earlier in May over increased bloodshed, drugs and illegal activity and enacted rules meant to curb the issue.

In the province’s south, Peguis First Nation declared an emergency in late April, over worsening mental health and addictions issues its leadership said were tied to ongoing flooding and a lack of permanent flood protection.

Long Plain First Nation near Portage la Prairie called an emergency in February over a rash of physical and mental health issues it said were leading to increased drug abuse and overdoses.

erik.pindrea@freepress.mb.ca