AHOUSAHT: GET CLEAN OR GET OUT

Band Demands Village's Bootleggers, Drug Dealers Either Get Treatment
Or Face Banishment

An innovative get-treatment-or-get-out ultimatum handed to
bootleggers and drug dealers in Ahousaht, near Tofino, has already
changed the atmosphere in the small, isolated First Nations community.

Those who chose treatment over banishment are now offering to help
counsel other band members with addiction problems, which is proof
that the strategy is working -- so far, said Dave Frank, community
health services manager at the Ahousaht Holistic Centre.

"There's a huge difference in the community so far. There's a sense
of peace and energy," he said.

Frank, who put together the treatment plan for more than two dozen
suspected dealers and bootleggers operating in the community of about
900 people on Flores Island, said inspiration for the ultimatum came
from the cries of the mothers and grandmothers.

The plan for a mix of traditional and western healing, including four
weeks of treatment at a centre near Zeballos and a week of treatment
every month for a year, was then handed to the hereditary chiefs.

"The chiefs didn't want to just ban people. They wanted them removed
until they got help," he said.

Community representatives, accompanied by an RCMP officer, delivered
the ultimatums door to door.

"Most took the opportunity to go and get the help that was provided.
They were angry, but then they realized what was happening," Frank said.

About 21 people went for treatment and at least four others refused
- -- some of them claiming innocence -- and it is uncertain what will
now happen to them.

"That's up to the chiefs," Frank said.

The others were welcomed home in a traditional ceremony last week,
after their month of treatment. Some offered apologies to the community.

Unemployment, a community which is largely under-30, continuing
fallout from mistreatment at residential schools and loss of identity
form the backdrop for drug and alcohol abuse in Ahousaht, Frank said.

Alcohol is the main problem, with a smattering of marijuana and crack
cocaine use and there is a direct link to the teen suicide problem
the community has faced in recent years, Frank said. "The majority of
attempts have been alcohol- and drug-related."

Const. Steve McNamara of Ahousaht RCMP said police went along as the
notices were delivered to support the band and keep the peace.

"But, there were really no problems," he said.

There are no plans to take action against those who chose not to take
treatment, McNamara said.

In such a small community, police try to work hand in hand with the
band to come up with solutions, he said.

"As in any situation, the RCMP would look at investigating any
allegations," McNamara said. "But, it's not as if someone's openly
dealing crack on the streets."

Chief Judith Sayers of the First Nations Summit and chief councillor
of the Hupacasath First Nation of Port Alberni, said banishment is a
traditional form of punishment, but could raise legal questions.

Issuing a treatment-or-get-out ultimatum could help with the serious
problem of drug and alcohol abuse, Sayers said.

"I think the community is just doing what it thinks is best to
protect their children," she said. "The community is saying enough is
enough. They have lost too many youth to suicide and, in a remote
community, social issues such as drinking become really intense."

Michael Prince, social policy professor at the University of
Victoria, said people are becoming much more respectful of
traditional aboriginal practices and the ultimatum would probably
stand up legally, provided there was due process.

"It should be a collective process with some accountability and the
person has a right to be heard," he said.

As treaties progress, it is likely B.C. will hear more about the
revival of traditional practices, whether in health or policing, Prince said.

"That's the logic of self-government."

Banishment has been used occasionally in recent times, with one
Vancouver Island band refusing to let a pedophile chief back into the
community and other bands turfing out non-native drug pushers.