A picture taken at the legislative building. (Submitted/ Betty Prosper)

By Nigel Maxwell

Creating awareness

Muskoday awareness walk arrives in Regina

Jun 15, 2023 | 2:00 PM

After seven days, and over 300 kilometers of walking, members of Muskoday First Nation have reached the province’s capital.

Betty Prosper and Erica Hennie were part of the group raising awareness for the epidemic of overdoses related to fentanyl and crystal meth.

“Now that we are here I feel like we didn’t do enough. To me this is just a start,” Prosper told paNOW on Thursday.

The walk started on June 8, and Prosper explained that as they travelled through the various communities, they met many people impacted by the epidemic.

“They all needed to talk about the loves ones they have buried. There was a lot of hurt in our walk. We felt it,” she said, adding that with support from chief and council, she would like to do the walk again next year.

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Erica Hennie was equally emotional about her experience.

“It was a real empowering walk we did. There’s a lot of joy in the faces of our walkers because they accomplished something we all set out to do”, she said.

Describing the walk as a spiritual journey, Hennie also acknowledged the people they met along the way, and noted some broke down in tears when they shared their story.

“But they were all happy that we were actually doing this awareness. It’s something that was needed.”

While in Regina, the group planned to meet with NDP MLA Betti Nippi-Albright. They have also been contacted by the Ministry of Health.

Going forward, Hennie said she hopes the government gives the issue more attention, in the form of more resources to address mental health and addiction. Hennie would also like to see more crystal meth testing done in her home community, adding when people smoke crystal meth in their homes, it destroys the home.

“It’s not just a First Nations problem. It’s a problem for everybody from all walks of life,” she said.

(Facebook/ Crystal Meth and Fentanyl Overdose Awareness)

Last year, Saskatchewan set a record for overdose deaths with 421, surpassing the 410 deaths reported the previous year. The number country-wide for 2022 was 5,360 opioid deaths, roughly 20 per day.

David Pratt, the First Vice-Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) spoke before the walk began, stressing the need for more government support for opioid treatment. He said the FSIN is still compiling the data but believes more First Nations people have died from opioid overdoses in the last few years than from COVID-19.

During an assembly of FSIN Chiefs last month, Pratt said they declared a regional State of Emergency due to the number of communities being impacted by drug use and overdose.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell