Drug Take Back Day
Dear Editor: I would like to thank all those community members who dropped off unwanted medications during the DEA National Drug Take Back Day this past Saturday in front of the Sitka Public Library. The event was a collaboration between the Sitka Public Library, Sitka Police Department, Harry Race Pharmacy, Sitka Counseling and the HOPE (Healing Our People and Environment) Coalition.
We collected 64.25 pounds of medications and helped reduce unwanted access to those medications. The most common access points youth and others get medications, not prescribed to them, is from home or from a friend’s home.
The take back event is just one component of a larger prevention program aimed at reducing the negative effects of substance misuse. There are medication drop boxes located at the Sitka Police Department, Harry Race Pharmacy, White’s Pharmacy and at SEARHC Pharmacy. In addition to the drop boxes, we have free medication disposal bags available from our prevention offices at 111 Metlakatla Street (just past the Sitka National Historical Park), Sitka Public Health, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Salvation Army, Sitka Police Department, SEARHC Pharmacy, Harry Race Pharmacy, and White’s Pharmacy. Most of the locations also have resource materials free of charge.
As many of you know, there has been a dramatic increase in overdose deaths across the U.S. and here in Alaska. In 2021 there were 245 overdose deaths in Alaska, a 60% increase over the previous year. Sitka has experienced its own overdose-related deaths. To help combat this trend, Sitka Counseling-HOPE Coalition in partnership with the State of Alaska, Sitka Public Health Department and our other community partners are making Opioid Overdose Reversal Kits (NARCAN) available free to the public. Contact the Prevention Department at Sitka Counseling for more information and/or to pick up a NARCAN Kit.
You can also join the HOPE Coalition which meets the second Thursday of each month. If you are interested in helping support a healthy community, please let us know at 907-747-3636 (ask for the prevention department) or look us up on our website at sitkacounseling.org and go to the prevention page or to the HOPE Coalition page.
Loyd Platson,
Sitka Counseling-HOPE Coalition
MMIW Week
Dear Editor: This week is MMIW Week of Action. MMIW stands for murdered and missing indigenous women. This term has been expanded to MMIR (R for relatives) to include tribal citizens of all genders in Alaska. According to the NAMUS database, 286 Alaska Natives or Native Americans were missing in Alaska in March 2022, and we suspect not all cases are included. Unfortunately, data about murdered indigenous Alaskans doesn’t exist.
Sitka Tribe of Alaska Social Services and SAFV are working together to raise awareness about this abysmal situation in our state. In Sitka, we remember the disappearance of a non-Native woman, the murder of four Lingit family members, and the murder of two young females in recent history. Kake lost three young women to murder in the last 10 years, and Klawock lost two women in the last six years. This is an urgent crisis, especially in our rural communities and we need to spread awareness about it.
Many rural communities don’t have law enforcement officers. We want to let you know that the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center recently published a toolkit for families and communities who are missing a family or community member. It is a great template for necessary action and leads those in need through every step, including communicating with Troopers and the media. You can find it on their website aknwrc.org.
May 5 is the designated MMIW Day of Action. We are joining the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center in their campaign “No More Stolen Sisters” and encourage you to show your support by posting a selfie wearing red or traditional attire using the hashtags #MMIWActionNow, #NoMoreStolensSisters, and #MMIW. You can download a poster to go with it from tinyurl.com/MMIWposter. Please share your picture on the Facebook pages of SAFV and STA.
Those of you who would like to read more about this issue may download the special MMIW (January 2022) issue of Restoration, a magazine published by the NIWRC, at their website niwrc.org.
Two federal laws were passed in 2020 to deal with this situation. Savanna’s Act reforms law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing and murdered Alaska Native and Native American women, most notably to collect and share data on missing and murdered indigenous persons among agencies. The Not Invisible Act increases “intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat violent crime against Indians and on Indian lands.”
This is a good start but we want to continue keeping issues surrounding MMIW and MMIR on the front burner. Please contact SAFV at 907-747-3370 or STA Social Services at 907-747-7293 with questions or comments.
Gunalchéesh.
Kelsey Carney,
Sitka Tribe of Alaska
Martina Kurzer,
Sitkans Against Family Violence
