In 1989, following an increasing number of deaths involving drugs and alcohol particularly among youths, the community reached a turning point. A Band Council Resolution was passed making it mandatory for anyone elected to sit on council to enter treatment, if he or she had a substance abuse problem.
Consequently, the same chief and councillors that created the bylaw entered treatment. Their innovative resolution was a first in North America and perhaps anywhere.
OUR HEALING JOURNEY documents the result of the Lutsel K'e Chief and Council’s decision over a period of twenty-five years. The challenge of reconnecting with their true selves and their community, is marked with personal difficulties and struggles.
Gaining an understanding of the reason as to 'why they drank' was crucial to their healing. Early alienation from family through residential school and the realization that multi-generational issues had been handed down to them through their parents and grandparents, allowed them to move forward.
At the heart of individual and community healing is the spiritual strength gained from a deep connection to their vast and pristine Chipweyan ancestral land and an annual pilgrimage to the ‘Old Lady Sitting in the Falls', a 150-foot high waterfall venerated for its healing power by their elders.
OUR HEALING JOURNEY is a unique story of courage whose issues extend well beyond the Lutsel K'e Chipweyan Dene.
