ÎYÂRHE NAKODA – Each step of the arduous 126-kilometre Ama’hna’bino journey from Mînî Thnî to Calgary and back in the dry summer heat is a powerful display of resilience and solidarity.
For members of Sobercrew Calgary, especially those with a connection to Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation, the 30-hour round-trip walk has become a necessary act to help bring closure to families and friends who have lost loved ones to addiction, suicide or violence.
“It’s brutal. We push our bodies to the limit. We suffer and we struggle, but it’s through that that we get the healing we need for ourselves and for our people,” said Robbie Daniels, a founder of Sobercrew who grew up in Mînî Thnî (Morley), while stopped on the return trip.
Ama’hna’bino, or they are taking me home, brings the spirits of loved ones who lost their lives in the city and elsewhere home to rest. The walk departed on July 31 and arrived back in Mînî Thnî Thursday (Aug. 3).
The walk also serves as a platform to spotlight the alarming disproportionality in the impact of addiction, overdose and suicide on Indigenous communities.
Daniels struggled with addiction for nearly 30 years before becoming a founder of Sobercrew in 2019, and lost his father, mother, sister and many friends to related causes.
He said reconnecting with Îyârhe Nakoda culture has kept him on the path of recovery.
“Culture is extremely important to recovery. All my life, I didn’t know about my culture,” said Daniels. “I didn’t know about my culture and it wasn’t until I learned about it that I started to sober up.
“I started to smudge; I started going to sweat lodge ceremonies. I kept tapping into that and started fasting and sun dancing. It saved my life.”
With Sobercrew – a recovery group that supports each other through outreach in Calgary – Daniels, accompanied by his brother Travis and others, gathers a few times a month to drum and sing at locations across the city. They also give out meals, tarps, blankets and jackets to the city’s homeless community.
More support is needed for addiction treatment, mental health and wellness and homelessness in the city and in Îyârhe Nakoda First Nation, Daniels said.
“There are too many funerals in our community. We need to be doing more, there needs to be more happening in that area,” he said.
Floranda Kootenay, a social worker at Eagle’s Nest Stoney Family Shelter in Mînî Thnî, said the programs and services in Mînî Thnî, Eden Valley and Big Horn are not adequate to address the lasting impacts of intergenerational trauma from colonization.
“What we have right now is very little … very little. We seriously need more support,” she said. “Why can’t we have a place, like a healing lodge, where people can walk in if they’re under some kind of duress to talk to an elder or have access to traditional medicines? I think that’d be very beneficial for us and I know many people who would use that space.”
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) final report underscores that substance use in Indigenous communities often stems from coping with trauma, leading to lasting intergenerational health and social issues.
The report, which discusses the impact of the residential school system in Canada, states, “many [residential school] students who spoke to the Commission said they developed addictions as a means of coping” with the traumatic events they experienced.
According to a Statistics Canada report, from 2011 to 2016, suicide rates among First Nations people, Métis and Inuit were also significantly higher than the rate among non-Indigenous people. The rate among First Nations people was three times higher than the rate among non-Indigenous people. Among First Nations people living on reserve, the rate was about twice as high as those living off reserve. Indigenous youth faced suicide rates six times higher than non-Indigenous peers.
The Commission highlighted 11 areas in which healthcare disparities are greatest between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, with Indigenous peoples facing a 14-year lower life expectancy compared to non-Indigenous populations.
Mental health outcomes, specifically addiction and suicide, significantly impact lower life expectancies. According to Statistics Canada, addiction affected a quarter of Indigenous peoples from 2011 to 2016, contrasted with the non-Indigenous population that was at 17 per cent.
Every person walking and supporting Sobercrew's cause has experienced the impact of addiction in their lives, said Daniels.
For Carol Littlepine, she's lost friends and has family members still stuck in the cycle. She knows how hard it is to come out of addiction.
“It wasn't easy. I don't know how I could have done it without God, without friends, without family, without support,” she said. “I'm doing this for my family. I'm keeping my hopes up, my spirit up and praying this walk will do much good.”
In Alberta, First Nations people represent about six per cent of the population. In the first six months of 2020, however, they represented 22 per cent of all opioid poisoning deaths in the province. This was an increase from 14 per cent in 2016.
In its 2023 budget, the federal government pledged $359 million to support a renewed Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, which will continue to guide the government’s work to address the overdose crisis and broader substance use related harms.
Last month, Treaty 6 First Nations in Alberta and Saskatchewan declared a state of emergency over rising opioid deaths.
A total of 179 people in Alberta died from drug poisoning in April, according to Alberta Health Services data, making it the deadliest month this year to date. In the first week of May, RCMP confirmed at least three people died in Mînî Thnî due to overdoses associated with a toxic batch of drugs circulating the community.
Also in May, the Alberta government announced 11 new treatment facilities across the province, including for Siksika and Tsuut’ina nations.
There are no new facilities planned for Îyârhe Nakoda First Nation, though, the Nation is expected to open its Stoney Health Services-run day program treatment centre in the fall.
For as long as drug and mental health crises persist among Indigenous communities, especially his own, Daniels said Ama’hna’bino will carry on. This marks the walk’s second year.
Kootenay described the trek as a powerful experience. She walks for her late brothers and to support others on the journey.
“Many of us pray as we walk along, and I always talk to my brothers and our family who never made it back home,” she said.
“I tell them that this was not our way of life. Colonization, residential schools and all the horrible things that happened to Indigenous peoples – that’s not who we are. We are a community, we are strong and we are taking our family back home.”
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
