b'you cant stop it, what do we do? I feel helpless. And I see that with these fatal overdoses that are happening, and I think thats one thing we need to concentrate on more. Indigenous communities have also continued to show incredible resiliency during this past year. Debassiges own community is geographically unique, being at the southern end of an island peninsula with one road coming in or out. This has been a key factor in their fight against COVID-19, as the community put up a roadblock to stop outsiders from coming in and potentially spreading the virus. At one time, back in the day when the government wanted to keep us on the reserves, there was a gate on the one road leading out, so anyone that left the reserve had to have a pass, Debassige says. worked in Indigenous politics for 35 years. One of the thingsBut now today were able to set up that same gate and prevent she took away from Makokis and Johnsons talk was on havingpeople from coming in. So we were able to keep our very health systems that were in First Nations communities andelderly people safe. could traditionally be found in ceremonies. It was Indigenous health vs Indigenous sickness, notes Debassige. Today its Indigenous sickness, whereas before it was Indigenous health, so you spent a lot of time on prevention. As an example, she points to herbal medicines that were taken on a daily basis. That was Indigenous health, where you kept your health in a good way, she explains.This is why the Health Forum, which presents information in a very concise way, is so important to her. Im a big believer in data. Data will give us true pictures, itll give us trends that we should watch for, she says. Through Debassiges own life experiences, she has been noticing a lot of drug overdoses. I think, why are these young people dying? And it just seems like I ssue1 2021C hIefs ofo ntarIoA dvocAte magazIne l 17'