CHIEFS TO DRUG USERS: GET HELP OR GET OUT

Addicts, Traffickers and Drunks at Ahousaht Get One Day's
Notice

Get treatment or get out, addicts, drug dealers and bootleggers in the
remote First Nations community of Ahousaht have been told by the
band's hereditary chiefs.

About 30 people were given a day's notice last week that they must
leave Ahousaht to get treatment for drug or alcohol abuse.

Most were put on boats and taken to a former logging camp on Sydney
Inlet, near Hot Springs Cove, for eight weeks of intensive treatment
rooted in Nuu-chah-nulth culture.

Several people said they would not go and have been served notice they
will be struck from the band's membership, said council member Keith
Atleo, who is standing in as one of the band's seven hereditary chiefs.

"There are some people whose defences are up, but a lot of people in
the community are glad this has happened because they want to stop the
cycle," Atleo said.

A couple of people who are known as repeat offenders have already left
and the band is working to ensure several non-aboriginal people leave
Ahousaht, he said.

"The community is standing up and saying enough is enough. We don't
want our children to gain access to alcohol and drugs. Some people are
concerned about safety in the community because with drugs and alcohol
comes violence," Atleo said.

Ahousaht has about 1,800 members, with about 800 people living on the
main Flores Island reserve, a 45-minute boat trip from Tofino on the
west coast of Vancouver Island.

For years the community -- home to Assembly of First Nations national
chief Shawn Atleo -- has struggled with youth suicide and drug and
alcohol abuse.

Three years ago, a similar attempt was made to take about 20 people
off the island and send them for treatment in Zeballos.

Most of those have since relapsed, with problems becoming more intense
as the economy worsened. The community believes this time will be
different because the healing retreat is being held on traditional
territory and includes cultural immersion, Atleo said.

There will be medical oversight, with staff from the Ahousaht Holistic
Centre, a psychiatrist and doctors on site, said deputy chief Curtis
Dick, who emphasized hereditary chiefs are ensuring the program
follows tradition.

There are mixed feelings about removing people and some are angry, but
once at the camp, participants have a choice about whether to turn
their lives around, he said.

"Our traditional system is, in a sense, respected more than European
law," he said, noting under European law there is a requirement to
wait for proof, but witnesses often decide not to give evidence. "Our
traditional system is to deal with the problem."

Dick added that it's the children who suffer most from drug and
alcohol abuse among adults.

One of the keys to success will be help and support from the community
and families when participants return, he said.

The total cost of the program is about $100,000 and will include a
grant from the Residential School Healing Project.

Ahousaht, which delivers its own health care with grants through the
Vancouver Island Health Authority, has applied for a $50,000 VIHA
grant for the program, but it is still under review, said spokeswoman
Shannon Marshall.