Chief pledges to banish drug dealers as Fort Chipewyan grapples with suicide crisis

WARNING: This story discusses suicide and suicidal ideation.

An illicit supply of drugs in Fort Chipewyan is contributing to a suicide crisis in the remote northern Alberta community, says the chief of the Mikisew Cree First Nation.

The band declared a state of local emergency this week, raising the alarm over a string of recent deaths by suicide, and numerous suicide attempts, in the isolated hamlet of about 800 people, 220 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro said at least five band members have died by suicide in the past couple of months.  

Ten others have attempted to take their lives in the past week, he said.

"We have to do this," Tuccaro said in an interview Wednesday from Fort Chipewyan.

"We cannot sit by and pretend it's not happening."

'Done talking'

As the band calls for additional provincial and federal help, residents of the hamlet say a co-ordinated response will be needed to address complex social issues — including isolation, intergenerational trauma and addiction — that are contributing to the crisis.

Tuccaro said the tragedy is being fed by the desperation of substance abuse, and the ebb and flow of the illicit drug supply. 

"As the chief, I get a lot of these calls from people reaching out and I have to be that ear for them," he said.

"A lot of my people, they get high off the crack and the meth. And it's the comedown that's doing it to them. I truly believe that is the root of the problem."

Tuccaro said if the community wants to ease the mental health crisis in the long term, it must stem the flow of illegal drugs and banish dealers from the community.

"We are, 100 per cent, going after the drug dealers. Enough is enough," he said.

"As the Mikisew people, we know a lot of this is happening in our homes."

The MCFN has taken a hard stance against street drugs. In February, the band adopted a zero-tolerance policy against the possession, manufacturing and trafficking of illegal drugs.

A community bylaw issued by the MCFN empowered RCMP to search lands and properties owned by the band, and gave band leadership the power to evict people suspected of being involved in the illegal drug trade.

Tuccaro said the band will continue to work with the RCMP to enforce the policy, and plans to hire security guards to help police patrol the streets, he said.

"We're done talking. It's time to put words into action," he said. "If we allow this to happen as a community, we are just part of the problem."

Tuccaro said fears over environmental contamination from a leaking tailings pond at Imperial's Kearl mine are also taking a toll. The leak was not disclosed to the public for nine months.

Fort Chipewyan is also home to many members of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

ACFN Chief Allan Adam has echoed Tuccaro's calls for help with mental health and enforcement.

Adam said band members in the hamlet are in turmoil due to escalating addictions and a pervasive supply of hard drugs, including opioids.

In a statement, Indigenous Services Canada said it is deeply concerned about the issues facing the community 

The ministry said it has been in regular contact with community leadership and is "responding to critical incidents as they arise."

Additional mental wellness crisis supports including psychologists, were deployed to the community this week. A subject-matter expert was also deployed to support administration with their crisis response planning and implementation.

In a statement, Rick Wilson, Alberta's minister of Indigenous relations, said he is "deeply concerned" by the situation. Wilson said he is committed to providing support amid the suicide crisis. Alberta Health Services has declined to comment.

'A community in crisis'

Alice Rigney, an elder with the ACFN, said help can't come soon enough. 

She said a family member recently died by suicide, and that she worries for her children and grandchildren.

She said the local bands need to work together toward healing the turmoil. 

"We have to come together as one, because we are a community in crisis." 

Rigney, 71, said the scars left by the residential school system are still being felt in the community, by survivors like herself and the generations that followed. The danger posed by that trauma has been exacerbated by the constant presence of illegal drugs, she said.

Fort Chipewyan is only accessible by plane, boat or ice road but traffickers are finding ways in, she said. 

"My little community is going through so much and it's escalating," she said. "Especially for the youth, it feels like there is nothing there for them except alcohol and drugs and loss of faith." 

Samuel McDonald, an assistant youth co-ordinator at Fort Chipewyan Community High School, said there is a sense of desperation among residents that saddens him.

"There is a lack of purpose with young adults and many people in this community," McDonald said.

"They don't really think they have a future so they go down the path of alcoholism and drugs." 

McDonald has felt the effects of the suicide crisis first-hand. His sister recently attempted to take her life. He was at home when it happened and waited for paramedics to arrive. 

He said, he too, felt hopeless until he found a purpose, working with his peers at the school and connecting with his traditional culture.

"Our community is pretty much in fragments," he said. "We've got to get that connection back and work together."

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text between 4 p.m. and midnight ET).
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the website.
• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.