The First Nations Health Authority’s 2022 report on toxic drug deaths shows a disproportionate number of First Nations people affected.
Representing 3.3 percent of the province’s population, First Nations account for 16.4 percent of toxic drug poisoning deaths in 2022 according to the report.
That number comes alongside a 6.3 percent increase in overall toxic drug poisoning deaths to 373.
Of those, 70 lives were lost in the northern region of the health authority.
While underlying reasons for the disproportionate number of first nations affected by the health crisis are varied, the FNHA says that intergenerational trauma due to colonialism is a common thread.
A Healing Indigenous Hearts guidebook has been created by the FNHA to help facilitators create peer support groups that incorporate traditional medicines and cultural healing methods into addiction services.
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