Concerned citizens in Fort Providence have sent a clear message to anybody seeking to sell illicit drugs in their community.
“Your way of living is our way of suffering.”
Those words are emblazoned across a new mural on display at the old RCMP boat house, where it can easily be seen by people entering the community. The project was completed on Nov. 25 – the last day of National Addictions Awareness Week – and installed by local police officers the following day.
“We’re connected to Yellowknife by road, and close to Hay River, and they’re affected by [the drug trade] weekly,” said Fort Providence Métis Council victim services coordinator Miranda Elleze, who spearheaded the initiative. “It does affect everyone in our community, and myself included.”
“I’ve seen similar billboards shared on social media, which gave me the idea,” she added. “I’ve taken the initiative to speak up for our community in art.”
The mural was painted by Elleze and several other members of the community, including a few local youth who she said “are trying to get on the right path.”
Local artist Cynthia Landry designed the imagery.
“It was really a group effort in making this mural happen,” Landry said of the project. “I always say that I let my art speak for itself, and I think this project spoke louder on a subject that needed to be addressed.
“I’m just glad to have been part of it.”
Elleze wasn’t initially sure what kind of response the mural would get, but said she has noticed plenty of uplifting words on social media.
“I have seen positive feedback from the community online, and a few in-person,” she said. “It seems to be a positive trend online right now.
“The mural seems to have a positive impact on other communities in the North that want to take their community back,” she added.
While Fort Providence’s new mural is directed at current drug dealers, Elleze hopes that it will also help deter local young people from getting involved in the drug trade.
“I’m trying to encourage our youth and the next generation that this fast lifestyle is not safe, and it creates harm in the community,” she said.
There has only been one drug-related arrest that led to charges in Fort Providence this year, according to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Matt Halstead. There were none last year.
However, Halstead said there have been recent drug arrests in Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Resolution and Fort Simpson, and noted that “drug trafficking issues in the South Slave are all interconnected.”
“These arrests have an impact in reducing the availability of toxic drugs in all of the communities, including Fort Providence,” he said. “The Fort Providence (RCMP) detachment has contributed to these other investigations through intelligence gathering and providing officers to support enforcement action.
“The community of Fort Providence has expressed concerns about people in the community struggling with addiction and wanted to do something impactful to make a statement,” Halstead added. “The RCMP were proud to support this initiative and happy to have the mural mounted on the old RCMP boat house.”