By Alexandra Noad – Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on October 17, 2024.
The Blood Tribe Department of Health held an official book launch recently for Kottakinooniksi Awaahkapiyaawa: Bringing Our Spirits home.
This book tells the inspiring true story of the Blood Tribe Addictions Framework, which is a community-driven plan designed by the Blood Tribe to address the ongoing drug crisis.
It was through this framework the creation of the Bringing the Spirit Home Detox Centre was created. This centre is a valuable resource for other communities and organizations looking to implement effective strategies to combat addiction.
The book was written by Rebecca Many Grey Horses (Itisnohtispiyaki-Dances with Many Medicine Bundles) and Lene Jorgensen, former director of system and service planning for the Alberta Health Services South Zone.
Jorgensen says the book began with her and Many Grey Horses’ work they did in 2018 in developing an opioid response plan for the Blood Tribe, but it quickly grew into something much broader than just the Tribe.
“Because of the extensive and rich feedback, we gathered from our stakeholder engagement and how this informed the creation of the framework, it was apparent that many people, communities and organizations could benefit from learning about what we did, how we did it, and the recommendations that were made,” said Jorgensen.
Many Gray Horses hopes people will use the book as a resource to understand how the Blood Tribe is addressing the opioid crisis.
“The main idea is using the book as a resource to learn how the Blood Tribe is addressing the opioid crisis and how this community-driven approach is providing services for addiction,” said Many Gray Horses.
The development of the book began in 2018 with the creation of the framework. In 2021 the documents were edited to ensure the information would resonate with a broader audience. A publisher was found and funding was secured at the end of 2022. The book was published on Amazon and Eaglespeaker Publishing websites in September of 2023.
Jorgensen says every community who is impacted by the opioid crisis would benefit from the book.
“I think many Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities who are impacted by addiction can benefit from this book and help them embark upon their unique journey to address the challenges in a similar way. I also think post-secondary institutions, governments and health care organizations can use this as a guide,” said Jorgensen.
The book Bringing Our Spirits Home can be purchased on Amazon and Eaglespeaker.com.
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