Will our problems persist?

A growing population could mean growing troubles
One addiction to another – alcohol, gasoline, cocaine, Percocets, OxyContin.
Prescription drugs may be the substance of choice at the moment, but what’s alarming is the high rate of users.
Then there’s the violence. And the crime. Eabametoong First Nation is just one example of a community facing problems such as these. Two murders in the community this year. Another community member in Thunder Bay also murdered.
The city of Thunder Bay itself has had four murders this year. All involved Aboriginal people.
There’s a problem. I’m sure it’s obvious. But can these problems be solved? I’m hopeful.
But the pessimist in me has doubts. Why? Because I have a theory that makes me worry for our people in northern Ontario.
There is a total lack of parenting skills among Aboriginal people that will only perpetuate the current state of affairs.
We all know Aboriginal people are the fastest growing population in Canada. We continue to reproduce at rates higher than the rest of the country.
And consider this. One study says there are now more Aboriginal children in the child welfare system than at the height of the residential school system.
A scary thought when you think of how parenting skills were lost because of residential schools. And with so many children in care, that means more children who aren’t learning how to be parents.
That means more youth growing up who don’t know their culture and the teachings that come with it. That means more youth unsure of their identity and of themselves. That means more youth growing up in unstable environments.
Many youth today already have these problems. And they’re finding escape in drugs, in crime and in gangs.
“Their spirit is broken,” Chief Pierre Morriseau of North Caribou Lake said at the recent Chiefs Forum on Prescription Drug Abuse held through videoconferencing in the Sioux Lookout area.
He’s right. It’s why youth are finding escape in unhealthy ways. It’s why prescription drug abuse and other addictions are commonplace.
There aren’t any jobs, Morriseau said, they have nothing.
There’s not much of anything to do. And without a stable environment, without that loving support a family should provide, the problems will continue to grow.
Look at Kitchenuhmaykoosib, a community of about 1,200 people. Chief Donny Morris also spoke during the Chiefs Forum. He had some shocking numbers.
In a recent door-to-door survey of the 276 homes in the community, Morris said only four homes did not have a resident who was a drug user or seller. Four homes.
Thankfully, the community is active in treating and preventing the addictions in the community. They also have a detox centre for youth.
“We didn’t know how we were going to handle it, but we did,” Joey McKay, health director for the community, said.
With all the violence that has seemed to happen in the last year, I’m reminded of the words of another North Caribou Lake member.
Almost four years ago I interviewed Gary Quequish at a youth gathering dealing with abuse. He had a warning. He said, at the time, suicide was common in many First Nation communities. But he worried another trend would soon happen.
“I think what we will see now is a homicidal trend,” Quequish said at the time.
A short time later his words resonate in my mind as homicide rates appear to have spiked in the last year.
I paint a bleak picture, I know. But until we can stare the truth in the eye, we won’t know how to go about fixing the problems.
Eabametoong is doing it – facing the reality that prescription drug abuse has overwhelmed the community. Healing needs to take place. The root problems need to be addressed.
Other communities have also taken steps to face the reality of their problems and deal with it.
Perhaps there is hope after all.