Grant: Project Grant

Wikwemikong Unceded Territory is one of the largest and fastest-growing First Nation communities. The community has many thriving Anishinabe people, pristine waters and lands, strong language, culture, and heritage; but the consequences of centuries of colonial oppression are also present. The most serious health issue is the opioid crisis. It has resulted in social problems, chronic drug-related illnesses, mental health issues, family violence, loss of children into foster care, trafficking of women, crime, vandalism, and breakdown of the social fabric and relationships in the community. Tribal police estimate that for each addicted person there are ten family members whose health and mental health is affected by drug-related consequences. The community is proactive in addressing opioid use and there is a strong commitment to move away from a punitive approach. The community offers opioid agonist therapy (OAT) to treat these addictions. In the clinic, patients are supported with culturally based therapies and counseling. Our pilot research shows documented promising results associated with this community-owned, culturally safe approach, but it also emphasizes that more research is needed to identify promising practices. Our community-based, patient-engaged research will involve clients, family and community members in community-based solutions. We will work with Elders, knowledge keepers and clients in recovery to increase our understanding of the role of the land, Anishinabe language and worldview and their relationship to healing from opioid addiction. Research with providers across diverse sectors will create an Indigenous model of essential services for opioid recovery, and support the uptake results into policy, practice and service development. Finally, we will create access to robust health, social, and justice data sets and administrative data-bases in order to evaluate services, in order to empower the community to make knowledge-based decisions.