Indigenous leadership from throughout northern B.C. gathered at Moccasin Flats in Prince George to support and learn more about the vulnerable and unhoused population in the city.
The event was hosted by the Healing Fire Coalition, which is a group of Indigenous communities and organizations working together to support and connect with vulnerable members living on the streets of Prince George.
“It’s about connecting with our membership,” said Saik’uz Chief Priscilla Mueller. “I think that it’s really important we come down here and we show them that we do really care about them and we are going to work on solutions.”
She explained Saik’uz has been hosting weekly Healing Fires since June 2022 following a tragic death in the community.
She said the community has suffered 53 deaths since 2019 and three young people in January to overdose.
The Healing Fire sessions provided comfort and support to people dealing with addictions or who may have lost a loved one to the overdose crisis.
“The Healing Fire session allow our community to tell members considered vulnerable that you are loved and that you are important, that we hear your cries for help and that you are not alone,” said Mueller. “We started telling our neighbouring First Nations about the Healing Fire session and then invited the chiefs to join us in Prince George as many of those considered ‘homeless’ and living on the streets are members of our communities.”
Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan welcomed the Indigenous leadership, as Moccasin Flats residents, community members and partner groups shared food and songs around the fire.
“When Chief Mueller first told me about the Healing Fire session in her community, I thought it was a great idea. We then got talking about the situation with vulnerable people living on the streets in downtown Prince George. These people are from many Indigenous communities in central and northern B.C.,” explained Logan. “We want to show the vulnerable population that they are not alone, that their communities, leaders and Indigenous organizations care about them and continue to seek long-term solutions that work for vulnerable people.”
Logan said she see’s this collaboration “growing and growing” and that gathering in Moccasin Flats on such a cold and snowy day gives leadership a taste of what the unhoused population is going through.
“This is kind of the first step toward leadership getting together and seeing firsthand what's going on out there and trying to do something more,” added Chief Robert Michell from Stellat’en First Nation.
“I think this will be a stepping stone and you're going to see more of these collaborations, as we... try to deal with some of the people that are on the streets and provide them some dignity. It's not their fault they're here and so we have to provide that dignity to make sure that they continue on in life as much as possible as they can in their situation.”
Prince George Mayor Simon Yu also attended the event and said he would work collaboratively with the group to find solutions.
“I will do my best to help to coordinate to do whatever necessary to address the problem we are facing here today. I ran my campaign based on I will find a solution along with you guys together we will address this issue,” said Yu.
“Prince George can do better, we can do better. We must do better.”
The event also included food and care packages given to vulnerable people.
Indigenous leaders were given space to speak about the overdose crisis in their communities and the lack of affordable housing.
The chiefs then participated in a walking tour of downtown Prince George to better understand the scope of vulnerable people living on the streets.
The Healing Fire Coalition is already planning to host another event this summer and will continue to work to resolve the overdose crisis and increase the amount of affordable housing in Prince George.
