Settlers Role in the Substance Abuse Issue Essay Example

Substance abuse is a substantial problem in Indigenous communities, specifically for youth, and greatly affects many Indigenous people. Colonization played and continues to play a large part in this issue, meaning decolonization is an essential step towards the solution. Settlers, being the cause of residential schools, colonization, and racism, are responsible for aiding this problem and ensuring that Indigenous people get the help they need. 

To begin, Indigenous people, especially Indigenous youth, will often turn to substances to cope with the racism and discrimination they face from settlers, and it is therefore settlers' responsibility to help resolve this issue. A study done by Cheryl Currie, an epidemiologist and an assistant professor of public health, shows that in Indigenous youth aged 12-17, 18.4% of Inuit youths, 11% of Aboriginal youths, and 8.8% of Metis youths living in Canada say they have used prescription drugs, compared to 5.6% of non-indigenous youth in Canada. The study also shows how this is primarily because of the increase of Indigenous peoples living in southern Canada. The rates of racism and discrimination from settlers are much higher in southern Canada than in other parts of Canada, causing many Indigenous people to turn to drugs to cope. 

Next, It is clear how settlers and the trauma and abuse caused by them are the roots of the substance abuse issue in Indigenous communities. Since Indigenous people often face large amounts of trauma from differing issues, substance abuse rates are higher in Indigenous communities, as people often turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with trauma. Residential schools are one of the more prominent causes of substance abuse issues. A study done in British Columbia shows that 78.8% of residential school survivors have a substance abuse problem (“A scoping review of school-based indigenous substance use prevention”). This is because of the abuse faced in these schools, as well as the feeling of alienation and loss of family caused by residential schools. 

Settlers have the responsibility to help resolve the substance abuse problem in Canada. It is primarily because of settlers that the drug abuse rates in Indigenous communities are so high.Settlers are benefiting from colonialism and it is up to them to educate themselves and try to help resolve the substance abuse issue. Many settlers are often racist and discriminatory without realizing it, whether that be because of a lack of education or simply a lack of caring, and microaggressions can be just as harmful as blatant racism. Settlers will often make racist jokes, comments, remarks, or use racist words, and not realize that these actions are harmful. 

While there is no easy fix to this problem, settlers must work towards the resolution. There are many ways to achieve this. A study done by BioMed Central shows that, for Indigenous peoples, when addiction recovery has a cultural aspect it is more effective in reducing or eliminating substance abuse issues. Programs like this exist, one being the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program, which is run by First Nations communities and organizations and helps Indigenous people combat their addictions in traditional ways. These programs include prevention, intervention, and aftercare activities, all designed to help aid Indigenous people struggling with addiction. Settlers must help to ensure that these programs are accessible to all Indigenous people who need them, and ensure Indigenous people are aware of these programs.

To conclude, it is settlers' responsibility to ensure Indigenous people are getting the help they need in order to combat their substance abuse issues. Settlers have contributed so much to the substance abuse issue but are not contributing to the solution, and that must change. 

Works cited

Webster, Paul Christopher. “Prescription Drug Abuse Rising among Aboriginal Youths.” CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal De L'Association Medicale Canadienne, Canadian Medical Association, 4 Sept. 2012, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3447071/. 

Maina, Geoffrey, et al. “A Scoping Review of School-Based Indigenous Substance Use Prevention in Preteens (7–13 Years).” Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, BioMed Central, 1 Oct. 2020, https://substanceabusepolicy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13011-020-00314-1. 

Rowan, Margo, et al. “Cultural Interventions to Treat Addictions in Indigenous Populations: Findings from a Scoping Study.” Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, BioMed Central, 1 Sept. 2014, https://substanceabusepolicy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-597X-9-34. 

Government of Canada; Indigenous Services Canada. “National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program.” Government of Canada; Indigenous Services Canada, 11 Dec. 2019, https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1576089851792/1576089910366.