In Alberta, opioids claim eight times more victims among First Nations

First Nations people in Alberta die from opioids at eight times the rate of the rest of the population. This is what the latest provincial data reveals on the crisis linked to drug and narcotics consumption, about which indigenous leaders have been sounding the alarm for years.

A new report (New window) (in English) of the province reports an increase in deaths linked to overdoses among members of the First Nations: 373 deaths in 2021, and 344 in 2022. This represents more than 200 deaths per 100,000 people each year, or more eight times the rate observed in the rest of the Alberta population.

The report provides two full years of additional data than was previously available.

Cascading deaths

Jody Plaineagle is a member of the Piikani Nation in southern Alberta, an area particularly affected by the opioid crisis.

As soon as you lose someone, you lose another. You don’t even have time to start grieving.

She points out that these cascading deaths make it even overwhelming to attend funerals: Sometimes we just don’t want to go, because how can we move forward in these conditions?

Ms. Plaineagle adds that people feel shame when they compare the number of deaths in their own family to those of other families. All of a sudden, we say to ourselves that maybe our situation is not as bad as theirs.

Families almost decimated

Death rates are particularly high in Lethbridge, where Amber Jensen lives. This representative of the defense group Moms Stop The Harm welcomed a number of at-risk Aboriginal youth who had been children in foster care. Two of them died from a fentanyl overdose.

I see families where there is almost no one left.

Grief, coupled with past trauma that spans generations of Indigenous and First Nations people, explains why these communities are particularly affected. At least that’s what Esther Tailfeathers, a family doctor in the community of Blood.

Poverty and trauma are the two main factorsshe said in an interview in February, before the publication of the latest data.

More victims among women and young people

Although the majority of people dying from opioids in Alberta are men, the latest report notes that the proportion of deaths among women was higher among First Nations members.

Deaths of women represented 41% in 2022, compared to 23% in the rest of the population.

The mortality rate of young First Nations women is particularly high, especially among those under 25. In this age group, women accounted for the majority of First Nations deaths in 2022.

For both men and women, people under the age of 40 represent a higher proportion of deaths in First Nations than in the rest of the province.

Furthermore, according to Ms. Plaineagle, many young children are left behind while their parents suffer from drug addiction or die of an overdose.

Wave of states of emergency

In April 2023, the community of Blood declared a state of emergency over opioids.

The Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations also declared an emergency a few months later.

In January of this year, the Piikani Nation also declared a state of emergency. In a letter to members, the nation’s chief and council member wrote: We all know the deaths and lives destroyed by these drugs and the criminals who sell them. Every life lost breaks our hearts. This can not go on.

The calendar year 2023 was the deadliest on record for opioids in Alberta, with at least 1,867 deaths recorded in the province. This represents more than 5 deaths per day. No details are yet available on the number of these deaths among First Nations members.

Jody Plaineagle believes the long-term effects of the current crisis will be felt for generations: The opioid epidemic has caused more than just fatal overdoses. There will be many more impacts to come.

With information from Robson Fletcher