Athabasca Tribal Council
has declared a
Regional State
of Emergency
Situation overview
ATC First Nation communities are in crisis. Since January, at least 30 community members across all the First Nations we serve have been lost to overdose, suicide or the results of self-harm.
This amounts to more loss of life in ATC First Nations than were reported in the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ATC has been given a mandate from the Chiefs and Councils of the communities we serve to address this urgent mental health and addiction crisis.
For over 10 years, our communities have been working to recover from one disaster or crisis just as we are hit by another. The wildfires we just endured in Fort Chipewyan, the fires in 2011 and 2016; the floods in 2013 and 2020. COVID-19.
All of these events compound with the ongoing and largely unaddressed impacts of generational trauma that our people live with every single day. But the impacts of these events on our people are not treated the same.
When COVID-19 hit, governments responded quickly. They responded with urgency. They responded with funding.
When this latest wildfire began to spread, governments responded quickly. They responded with urgency. They responded with funding.
We need governments to commit to true and continued partnership to address the mental health and addictions crisis that is escalating across this region — with the urgency this crisis requires.
The trauma and disruption of the most recent evacuations made an already challenging health crisis even more severe. Not only are we seeing a rise in more dangerous substance use, we are also seeing a rise in violence and illegal activities by people coming from outside our communities.
But we also learned from these fires that the Athabasca Tribal Council is well positioned to support the Nations in urgent and complex crises by acting as a coordinating body under the direction of local leadership. We will do this again to address the mental health and addictions crisis.
What we have already done
We have created a Taskforce made up of members appointed by each Nation’s Chief and Council, and are made up of community members, healthcare professionals and other community supports.
Under the direction of the ATC Board of Directors and the Chiefs and Councils, the Taskforce will set a strategy to provide immediate and long-term, sustainable solutions.
We have communicated this Regional State of Emergency to the Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments.
We have met with Indigenous Service Canada and received initial funding, but it is not enough!
We discussed collaboration and partnership with multiple Government of Alberta ministries, including:
Indigenous Relation
Mental Health and Addictions
Public Safety and Emergency Services
And the Ministry of Seniors, Community, and Social Services
We have support form the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
We have connected with First Nation Elders and hosted an Elder’s Wisdom Gathering.
We are going to use their teachings to understand how to address the crisis using culture, ceremony, language, healing and land-based connections to living in a good way.
We have initiated the steps to having multiple mobile Outreach Support Crisis Teams.
who can respond 24/7 to provide immediate in-person assistance to those in crisis.
We have been working with the RCMP and Alberta Health Services to roll out the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program, in Fort Chipewyan.
This is a program that will allow RCMP to offer individuals in their custody immediate access to a recovery program that includes the administration of medications that support addictions treatments.
We have and will continue to explore community security and policing alternatives.
We have seen a rise in drug-related violence, and this is traumatizing community members, and families.
ATC First Nations are sharing successful strategies with each other.
Fort McMurray 468 First Nation Health Department did a door-to-door campaign checking on people, families, and community members.
They have had success in bringing mental health resources to the doors of community members.
Checking in on those who we might not even know are struggling.
Other ATC communities are looking to implement similar strategies.
ATC has provided barrier-free access to mental health supports, both in-person and virtually.
In Cree, Dene, and English through community partner organizations specializing in counselling.
“We have done and will continue to do everything in our power to support our communities.”
–Chief Allan Adam
About the mandate
The Athabasca Tribal Council has a mandate from the Chiefs and Councils of the communities we serve to address this urgent mental health and addictions crisis impacting the communities ATC serves.
This means we have the duty to raise the alarm with the government, industry, businesses, and the public.
We can more strongly advocate for the communities we serve with the backing of a mandate from First Nations leadership.
The mandate directs that a Taskforce be created and be community-led. Members of the Taskforce are appointed by each ATC First Nation’s leadership. Appointed members include:
Band managers
Health directors and support staff
Directors of Emergency Management
RCMP
Nunee health
Aunties within reach
Government & Communications Professionals
Nisohkamatowin Psychology
Medika North
And a Missign, Murdered, and Exploited Indigenous People Taskforce representative.
About the Taskforce
The Taskforce will:
Review the action plan and confirm tactics with each First Nation and ATC.
Work collaboratively to understand the current situation of each community.
Identify strategies and programs to explore or be implemented.
Share individual Nation-led initiatives and results.
And keep their First Nations leadership up to date on the progress of the Taskforce.
A Regional State of Emergency is now in effect for the Athabasca Tribal Council. Please watch the news conference that took place at 10:00 a.m. MT on September 7, 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Our communities are in crisis. Since January, at least 30 community members across all the First Nations we serve have been lost to overdose, suicide or the results of self-harm.
This amounts to more loss of life in ATC First Nations than were reported in the entirety of the COVID-pandemic.
ATC has been given a mandate to address this urgent mental health and addictions crisis impacting the communities they serve.
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Our communities are in crisis. Since January, at least 30 people across the region have been lost to suicide, overdose, or the result of self-harm. They leave behind families, including children. These people deserved better. Their families deserve better. We owe it to them to draw attention to this crisis so we can change things for our communities.
The impacts of the recent wildfires in Fort Chipewyan are a clear example of why we need to move, now.
For over 10 years, our communities have been working to recover from one disaster or crisis just as we are hit by another. The wildfire we just endured and the ones before in 2011 and 2016; the floods in 2013 and 2020. COVID-19.
When COVID-19 hit, governments responded quickly. They responded with urgency. They responded with funding.
When this latest wildfire began to spread, governments responded quickly. They responded with urgency. They responded with funding.
We need governments to treat mental health and addictions with the same seriousness as they do other public health crises. We cannot wait for an “easier” time to save lives. The time for governments to act is right now.
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It will draw needed attention to our cause and ensure that the government understands how dire the crisis is and spur them to act in support of our regional, Indigenous-directed solutions. It will also signal the united front of our communities in addressing this crisis and advocating for resources to save lives.
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This declaration will underscore the severity of the situation and call on government to live up to their commitments to reconciliation. Declaring a State of Emergency will not grant the federal government any additional powers; it is strictly to focus attention, resources and efforts quickly.
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Each First Nation is a sovereign Nation and ATC recognizes and respects each Nation’s governance. Four of the five nations we serve have signed BCRs to declare a crisis. ATC’s Board of Directors and Councils have provided ATC the mandate to lead a regional response including a declaration of Regional SOLE. This will be completed by motion of the Board of Directors and will confirm the mandate and commitment to work in unity, advocate for needed resources and support one another.
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ATC is calling on the federal and provincial governments to deliver funding for a Regional Community Action Plan to address the immediate and root causes of this crisis, including long-term funding for sustainable, self-determined, and self-directed solutions – like regional and Indigenous-directed detoxification, treatment and post-treatment centres to support our communities.
We must establish healthy, community-directed change that helps people thrive with the support to make it happen.
We need:
• Action, true reconciliation, and trusted, committed partnerships from governments to change the course of this crisis.
• A sustainable funding solution that can help communities recover and set them up to thrive.
• A multi-governmental and multi-ministerial approach to addressing the complex multi-generational traumas resulting in a mental health and addictions crisis created by colonial practices such as residential schools. There needs to be collaboration with community for solutions.
• A commitment to the health of the people that both ATC and the governments of Canada and Alberta are responsible for serving.
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ATC is first calling for funding for a Taskforce to help address the crisis immediately, including with access to treatment beds and culturally-informed psychologists for community members, while long-term solutions are developed.
We are also asking for additional funding to establish sustainable, self-determined, and self-directed services such as: detox centres, treatment beds, community-based wellness teams, and transitional housing.
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As initial steps, a sustainable funding agreement will allow ATC to develop a Regional Community Action Plan for a coordinated, regional, and unified response with a focus on:
• Community safety, policing and security, because safe communities are healthy and well communities.
• Meeting the basic needs of communities while also growing local capacity to respond to social crises, like the ongoing drug and substances crisis we face today.
• Culturally-appropriate community wellness supports for mental health and addictions, with trauma-informed supports, essential land-based healing, harm reduction and prevention.
• Supports for community members seeking treatments, including: detoxification and recovery treatment, before- and after- care, including supports for families, available locally with a timely referral.
• Communities connecting with their youth, with a focus on safety, land-based experiences, access to cultural practices, ceremonies, access to language, Elders and Knowledge Keepers, sports and recreation, and access to each other in a safe and community-minded way.
• Community-led connections to the land, ceremony and cultural healing.
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The Chief and Councils of the member nations of ATC have a duty to represent and serve our communities. They direct ATC, which is in place to serve these communities.
The Athabasca Tribal Council Board of Directors and Councils gave a mandate to declare a Regional State of Emergency and create an action plan.
A Taskforce has been initiated to review the action plan and confirm tactics for each Nation and ATC. The Taskforce includes representation and grassroots expertise from all First Nations declaring individual States of Local Emergency, as appointed by their respective Chief and Councils.
It will:
• Review the action plan and confirm tactics for each Nation and ATC.
• Work collaboratively to share the status of each community.
• Identify tactics or programs to explore or be implemented.
• Discuss what a regional approach is vs. what is addressed on a community-by-community basis.
• Provide clarity if it is Nation-led or ATC-led, discuss challenges or wins on implementation, share results on the action plan, and update their leadership.
ATC will continue to brief their Board of Directors. The ATC Health Director will share weekly briefings to all parties on progress.
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Getting here was complex and over a long term. Our communities are strong, but we need sustainable solutions with committed partners. We and ATC will monitor the situation and we will rely on the guidance of Elders and our community leaders to build a pathway of wellness in the region.
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We and ATC are determined to find a solution to this regional crisis.
The ATC First Nations are strong. Our people are resilient. These First Nations and ATC have demonstrated our ability to implement strategies and services in the face of an urgent health crisis, as we did during COVID-19 and as we did during the 2023 wildfires.
We will explore every option possible to get the services the region needs.
However, the ATC Chief and Councils have indicated that solutions cannot wait for government to respond. If there are certain initiatives we deem necessary or Taskforce recommendations to implement that we may need to fund directly, we will, as our communities cannot wait for a slow response from government.
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If you or someone you know needs support, help is available. Mental health resources can be found online on the ATC website: www.atcfn.ca/mental-health-resources