First Nations ‘triaging grief’ as opioids claim lives at more than 8 times the rate of the rest of Alberta – CBC

Jun 05, 2024

‘You lose someone, and you’re trying to grieve, and then somebody else dies’

First Nations people in Alberta have been dying from opioids at more than eight times the rate of the rest of the population, according to newly published data that puts harder numbers on a grim reality Indigenous leaders have been sounding the alarm over for years.

Jody Plaineagle says it’s hard to put into words the cascading effects the opioid crisis has had on people in communities like hers.

“You lose someone and you’re trying to grieve and then somebody else dies,” she said.

“You’re triaging your grief and loss.”

Plaineagle is a member of the Piikani Nation in southern Alberta — a region that has been hit especially hard by the opioid crisis, according to a recently published report with long-awaited data focused on the province’s First Nations.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-first-nations-opioid-deaths-data-1.7224177