Regional State
of Emergency

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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