Indigenous Harm Reduction = Reducing the Harms of Colonialism

Indigenous peoples, communities, and cultures are strong. While the experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit in Canada are unique, they have all experienced hundreds of years of colonization, persecution and on-going structural violence that was intended to push them to the margins of society.

In the face of such oppression, however, with the guidance of Elders, ceremonies, and local Indigenous knowledges that have been passed down through generations, Indigenous peoples, languages, cultures, and traditions have not only survived, they have been revived, reclaimed, and revitalized. This can be no more important than now, amid Canada’s on-going opioid and overdose crisis, in which Indigenous peoples are over-represented.