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Hay River fireside talk and sober walk Angele Cano Northern News Services Published Monday, November 21, 2011
Abel and other clients at the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre gathered, drums in hand, around the fire inside the chilly arbor to kick off the National Addictions Awareness Week event. A large group surrounded the fire pit on K'atl'odeeche First Nation - students from Chief Sunrise School, treatment centre staff, teachers and members of the community shielding themselves in the arbor before heading out into the snowstorm. Nearing the end of his 28-day treatment program, with his graduation to take place the following day, Abel chose to take up the drum. Giant snowflakes flew through the arbor and students swished in their snowsuits, drawing closer to the fire. Abel stood with the other drummers, quiet and concentrating, with a reverent, almost solemn expression. "I'm doing it to promote my culture and try to keep the traditions active and alive," he said. " It's about being the best role model you can be and inspiring youth. Maybe it'll help them. I was inspired by seeing my older cousin drumming, so maybe if younger people see me, it might do the same for them." Before the fire feeding, Chief Roy Fabian addressed the circle, lamenting the introduction of drugs and alcohol into communities and the hefty responsibility residents must take personally to eradicate a powerful influence he called spirit deflating and dependence creating. "Look around at this weather we have. It's cold, right," said Fabian, lightly dressed in a leather jacket without a hat or gloves among a sea of snowsuits. "To our elders, this was nothing," he said. "The elders used to teach us we need to keep our spirits strong. To do this you need to respect everything and everyone. When you don't respect people - respect yourself - your spirit becomes weak. Today we listen to other people to try and make ourselves feel better, we use things to lift our spirits up, but it's only temporary. We're not alone in this. The whole world is troubled by this. But it takes time to change. A lot of people forget that." After singing and gathering up banners, students, treatment centre staff and clients went into the cold and blowing snow for the half-hour walk to the treatment centre. Bursting through the doors with rosy cheeks and matted heads, young and old grabbed lunch and crowded around tables. Abel brought out his vibrantly hued paintings and a few soapstone carvings. His artwork has been therapy for him, a positive he is choosing to focus on. He's worked with soapstone before, but this time he had to scrape for hours to uncover a figurine he was happy with. He likened this to treatment. "You need to keep scraping at what's bothering you, then you'll find out what's really bothering you on the inside," Abel said. "When you find that out, you connect it to a lot of things that you've been doing. You get your confidence back, your self-respect, your respect for others, life skills." Abel said he sees Addictions Awareness Week as a time to promote sobriety and branch out and meet new people through sobriety. He admitted this is not his first stint in treatment but said he's more confident this time than ever. "The more you go into treatment, the more you learn about yourself," Abel said. "You walk out with less problems every time. The only way you can deal with your problems is to face them." Treatment centre executive director Kristine Vannebo-Suwala sees people from all over the territory because the centre and its programs are available to anyone in the NWT who is suffering from addiction. "It's a busy time of year," she said. "It takes a lot of co-ordinating with the band, with Health and Social Services and the National Addictions Awareness Week national committee. One thing we try to do every year is celebrate sobriety of families and the North. This sober walk represents all the people still suffering with addictions and gives people hope that it can change for them." She said there's a noticeable increase in participation this year. The length of treatment programs has been a hot button topic in the addictions field and research suggests that 90-day programs are most beneficial. Vannebo-Suwala said while those who have poly-addictions or have been addicted for decades might benefit from a longer treatment program, she said most people benefit from a 28-day program with a holistic, community-centred approach and heavy emphasis on follow-up treatment. "If our system allowed for more care in communities then I think we'd be doing all right. We're reaching a new era in the centre with treatment models, but after-care and a supportive, sober-living environment would definitely be beneficial," she said. "Our job is to support change, whatever that looks like." As activities wound down at the centre, Abel helped with activities and socialized with a happy smile on his face. The 28-year-old said he tended to be passive-aggressive, negative and let his emotions bottle up until they were too difficult to face before seeking treatment. "I'm way more positive than I was," said Abel. "You make connections and you trust people. The more you can trust people the more you open up. But you have to be open to suggestions and be open to letting go of some feelings and issues and things that bother you."
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