An impromptu rally to stand up against drug use in the community is already seeing results.
On Aug 12, Denette Green's close family friend died of an overdose. She said she had enough and with some community support decided to organize a rally to send a message to those dealing drugs that they aren't welcome.
The following day, she said, approximately 100 people from Gitanmaax and surrounding areas came together to march down the street and take a stand.
The group started at the Gitanmaax Health Centre with some introductions and a welcome from a couple of Chiefs. They drummed and walked down Birch Grove and stopped in front of a couple of known drug dealer's houses.
"One of our members had put tobacco down," she said. "We drummed our songs and sang really loud in front of these drug dealers' homes. We want them to know that we know they're there and we know what they're doing. We want this to stop. And then we had community members yell and we need to stop the drugs. We love you. We care for you. Drugs don't care, drugs don't love you."
Green's hope for the protest sends a message also to the people in power, like chief and council, to take a hard stance against drug dealers.
"I heard these people were selling, mixing heroin and fentanyl and all this stuff--it needs to be done. Our culture is going to die. We have nobody. Our kids, our future kids, are going to literally have nothing," she said.
On Aug 15, two days after the community's cries for help, the house of a known drug dealer was boarded up. Green said that person was given an eviction notice and she is happy that something is starting to happen.
"We're tired of this," she added. "We're tired of these hard drugs taking our people. It's very alarming that we're losing so many people in such short time."
