RICHARD JENKINS

“Personally, I’m nervous. It’s the first video I’ve done,” says Alberta’s Regional Coordinator Richard Jenkins. He’s talking about a brand-new NECHI video that he oversaw called Inside and Out: The Impacts of Second-Hand Smoke on Pregnant Women and their Unborn Child.

Richard has no real reason to be nervous: Alberta is one of the most innovative regions in Canada in terms of fighting tobacco misuse among First Nations. “I’m nervous,” he repeats, “but I’m also excited that there will be another Aboriginal video that people will be able to use in whatever way they want.” The video comes with a facilitator’s guide and will be available in three languages: Blackfoot, Dene and Cree.

In addition to Inside and Out, there are many other exciting projects happening in Alberta.

Strengths
“Ceremonial Use – Not Daily Abuse; Help Me Measure Up!” is the name of the regional health promotion campaign, which is aimed at First Nations children, youth, adults and Elders throughout Alberta.  The campaign features a growth chart, colouring books, and buttons, which show images of the tobacco plant and its flowers, cigarettes, snuff, sacred pipes, and children’s faces. “Help Me Measure Up!” will be the kick-off for the First Nations and Inuit Tobacco Control Strategy (FNITCS) in Alberta. 

One of the strengths of the campaign is the growth chart, says Richard, because it examines the traditional and non-traditional uses of tobacco. “And because it’s a growth chart, it’ll be good for little kids, because they’ll want to get measured on the chart. It’s interactive. They’ll want to be measured on it -at least up to the height of 5 feet- because that’s how tall the growth chart is.”
Elsewhere, Treaty 7 is doing a billboard campaign, and the Tribal Council is exploring ways to grow tobacco in a natural and sacred way again. This is “so that [First Nations] don’t have to keep relying on the use of processed tobacco from tobacco companies when they need tobacco for ceremonies and as offerings to Elders and traditional people,” says Richard.
There is also something called “Smoky Sue Smokes for Two,” which is a big bottle with a doll head on top, and a fetus inside. All the grime from the cigarettes that the doll smokes gets captured at the top of the bottle, so that you can actually see the effect that smoking has on the body. (You can see a picture of a Smoky Sue doll at
http://home.pacbell.net/stoppreg/smoke.htm).

The Aboriginal Youth Network has made a tobacco-healing manual for youth (by youth) which will be distributed to First Nations communities all over the province. You can find the on-line manual on the AYN by going to http://ayn.ca/quit/en/manual_pdfs/tobacco_manual72.PDF.

Misconceptions

Richard explains that previous anti-smoking campaigns may not have worked as well because they were aimed at youth, but done by adults. “There has not been enough youth input,” he says. His experience has also taught him that there can be many misconceptions surrounding tobacco abuse workshops.
“We hired a focus group facilitator to go into the communities to work with new mothers and pregnant women. Her experience was that although women came to the (group therapy sessions), they were still feeling a lot of angst, guilt and defensiveness, because they thought that NECHI was coming in to try and convert them. But NECHI was just coming in to find out what they know, how things should be addressed, and what messages worked best.”
The groups were a very informative tool. One of the answers to the “What works best?” question was that anti-smoking messages should be delivered in a humorous way. “Using cultural humour” was important. One example was to have Don Bernstein do something on tobacco abuse.

Of his own, personal relationship to tobacco, Richard says that his grandmother has smoking-induced lung cancer and may not be with him much longer. “She still smokes,” he says. But Richard is not following in her footsteps. “I first started smoking when I was 18 and first quit when I was 20,” he explains. “I was having problems breathing after I’d moved to Toronto when I was 19. After seeing a doctor for tests related to my breathing she asked if I smoked and when I said yes she explained what was happening to my lungs as a result of my smoking. How she described what happens to each of the sacs in the lungs scared me enough to quit for several months. It took me a few more years to actually quit for good. My last cigarette was in 1991. I didn’t think I suited smoking anyway - most people said I either looked funny smoking or stupid. I decided I didn’t want to look either so I guess my vanity saved my lungs from the potential of lung cancer.”

DEBORAH SCHWARTZ

Deborah Schwartz is an Aboriginal health consultant working with the British Columbia Ministry of Health to coordinate the Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy. She is a member of the advisory circle and the regional coordinator for British Columbia. When she was in her twenties, she reconnected with her Metis culture and learned about the traditional uses of tobacco. It had a huge effect on her and helped her to quit smoking. She was the facilitator of the Advisory Circle Meeting in March.

Liane Balaban: What is the First Nations tobacco misuse situation in British Columbia?

Deborah Schwartz: We have the same kind of statistics as the rest of Canada. Our rates are two to three times as high as the Canadian population's. In some areas, over 70 per cent of the people smoke. But among university-educated Aboriginal people, only 10 per cent smoke. So it’s not true that every First Nations or Aboriginal person smokes. We know it has a lot to do with other factors like education. But we know that our rates are very high and it’s a huge concern to us because we know that many people are going to fall ill and die, just at the same time that we are gathering strength and asserting our power.

Tell us about the Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy in your region.

We’re in our third year of activities, and we have currently about 70 communities implementing tobacco projects. It’s a three-step program: Community reps received training in October, where they were given information on smoking and trained in how to provide group or one-to-one support for smokers. Then, in January, they recruited smokers in their communities to participate in the HONOUR YOUR HEALTH CHALLENGE. The challenge is for people to quit smoking for a month, to reduce their intake, or to make a smoke-free home. They have lots of options. During this month, the Aboriginal community organizations provide them with information and support. At the end of March, one facilitator and one participant from each program come to Vancouver and participate in a celebration and network event. There’s a big feast and some workshops.

What is the significance of the feast to First Nations cultures?

Feasting is very integral to Aboriginal cultures. There are funeral feasts, wedding feasts, naming feasts. Feasts are used to acknowledge an important event. It’s a profound concept.

KEEPING TRADITIONS ALIVE BY FIGHTING TOBACCO MISUSE

In what ways is the Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy different from mainstream approaches to quitting?

One of the things is that every community does it a little bit differently. They all give basic information on quitting, the stages of change, Zyban, the patch — all those mainstream practices. But what makes our project different is that we also integrate traditional activities, such as the sweat lodge, teaching cultural skills like cedar-basket making and blanket making. Smokers might also learn how to catch fish. A lot of people have lost those skills. The coastal peoples' cultures revolve around fishing, so relearning how to catch and smoke fish is a wonderful surprise for people. It is a real draw to motivate them to come to those smoking cessation groups.

What are the links between traditional practices and quitting smoking?

First Nations people are dealing with so many issues. In order for people to care about this issue (smoking), we have to explicitly connect it to the survival of First Nations people. But more than that we have to say: "It’s not just about you personally quitting, it’s that our nations won’t survive unless you stop." “Stopping tobacco misuse, one more way to keep our nation strong” is our slogan. And also, learning traditional practices contribute to learning who you are, learning what makes you unique. It gets people excited about making a change. And on a very practical level, one of the major complaints of a quitter is: “What do I do with my hands? My time?” So learning traditional practices provides a wonderful activity while the smoker goes through withdrawal.

And there’s another way that it helps. Psychologists teach us that if you build confidence in any area of your life, it actually helps you in other areas of your life that you’re not confident about. If I can develop skills in terms of making a basket that I never thought I could make, it will affect my confidence about quitting.

Also, isolation and cultural alienation influence smoking. When the community comes together, the simple practice of uniting people around a positive activity is in itself healing. Especially with women, because it makes you feel more valuable. You have to think you’re worth saving; you’re worth fighting for. You’re not going to be motivated to quit if you feel like you aren’t worth it. Skills that make you feel more competent make you view yourself differently: you are someone that should be cared for, and you have the skills to care for yourself.

REASONS TO QUIT

So people need to find good reasons to quit?

People need potent, powerful reasons to quit. “It’ll kill you” might not be a good enough reason for First Nations, because they suffer from depression. The youth suicide rate can be so high in some communities. One Aboriginal youth in British Columbia said that “Longevity is overrated.” He didn’t feel he had much opportunity or much to look forward to. So we have to help people find reasons to quit smoking.

How can we help people find those reasons?

By meeting people who are interesting and also honouring their health. By providing not motivation, but inspiration. By meeting inspiring role models. They can be young or old. Having them tell the stories of their life and just sharing their knowledge- that’s inspiring. Having an Elder talk about traditional medicines, or talk about their view of life. Having a young person talk about getting their education and maybe going to the city or working as a lawyer or a nurse- that inspires people and makes them feel hopeful about their potential.

You said that groups also do activities like swimming and walking together. How does that help?

Components of the program like exercise, drinking water, nutrition, and paying attention to your sleep and stress contribute to improving other conditions people may have like diabetes or heart disease. And some of the smokers that come to the groups have other issues and addictions. Going to a smoking cessation group is less stigmatizing- that’s another incidental but incredibly important benefit of running a program.

LESSONS FROM WILDERNESS CAMP

Are there any programs or experiences that really stand out in your mind?

There was a group of 10 men from North West British Columbia. Their facilitator, who was an alcohol and drug counsellor, took them to a wilderness camp. It was a 10-hour boat ride from civilization. They had prepared themselves by talking about why they wanted to quit, and their expectations, so they knew what they were signing up for. But they ran into all sorts of difficulties.

The facilitator told the guys they couldn’t be addicted to other substances, because they would be in the wilderness for 10 days. But everyone in the group was addicted to something else. They lied because they wanted to go on the trip. Even though they were all smokers, they had actually signed up for the trip to deal with their other addictions. Three had cocaine problems, and the rest were alcoholics.

So there they were going through all of these various withdrawals and their generator breaks on first day. They have no heat. They choose to stick it out instead of radioing in for help. That changed everything because they had to literally chop wood constantly for heat. They needed to adjust their rhythms to the rhythms of the Earth: wake up with the sun, go to bed at sundown. Their whole rhythm changed to fit the natural cycle. They hunted quite a bit and killed several animals. For the Elder who came, it was an opportunity to teach them how you hunt in a traditional, sacred manner. So knowledge on the traditional uses of tobacco was put into use right there.

What was the outcome of this experience? What was the counsellor’s reaction?

The counsellor said that you could never advertise a smoking cessation program where you chop wood, carry water, and freeze your butt off. But it worked because people had to focus on their own daily survival. Everyone quit his or her substance abuse for the 10 days. Most of them stayed addiction free for the months to come. When they came back to the community, they were welcomed with a feast.

Are there any other stories you’d like to share?

Dennis Nicholas (a Kanehsatake Elder) talks about how some of our wisest elders are children. That’s definitely been true in our program. One woman brought her daughter to the office, when she was picking up something. All the people working in that health station were outside smoking, and the little girl, who was about 7, said “I can’t believe you are all outside smoking and are supposed to be health workers.” That one little remark from a child had a huge effect on them, and made them think about what they were modeling. So change can happen in very unexpected ways.

PAUKTUUTIT: INUIT AND TOBACCO

Smoking and smokeless tobacco use pose a major danger to the health and well being of the current Inuit population, and are a threat to the survival of future generations. It is generally known that Inuit youth and adults smoke at a rate up to three times the Canadian average, with Inuit children beginning to smoke at an alarmingly young age: By the age of 9, 8 per cent of Inuit children will be smokers.

And whereas First Nations have a traditional, sacred relationship to the tobacco plant, no such relationship ever existed among Inuit people. Tobacco has never been a part of the traditional Inuit way of life.

However, tobacco abuse touches the lives of nearly all Inuit families, whether in the form of snuff, chewing tobacco, smoking, and/or second-hand smoke. Most children are born into families where at least one member smokes, and in communities with severe housing shortages, cramped, overcrowded dwellings magnify the negative effects of second-hand smoke for everyone.

But in the area of youth smoking, Pauktuutit youth intervener Looee Okalik notes that “a lot of clouds are lifting for young people right now.” The sunshine is breaking through, thanks to the amazing children and youth initiatives that are being carried out by the Pauktuutit Women’s Center. Traditional Takuginai puppets have been incorporated into all sorts of media to help youngsters learn about tobacco abuse, such as The Inuit Broadcasting Corporation’s series of comic skits on not smoking. There is also a storybook for youth called Grampa and His Pipe, which features the Takuginai puppet family learning how to help each other and the community cut down on tobacco use. The storybook is available in different regional dialects.

Looee reminds us that the Elders of a community are an integral part of any tobacco awareness movement. “The Elders will notice someone who quit smoking and say "you look so beautiful, your face is glowing,” she says.

Inuit Resources:

Inuit & Tobacco: A Report under the National Inuit Use Reduction Campaign. (Published 1995).

Guidelines for Inuit Communities: Working on
Reducing Tobacco Use. (Published 1995).

Aniqsaattiarniq- Breathing Easy: Tobacco Recovery Resource Materials. (Published 2000). Available in English only.

Suvaguuq – the National Newsletter on Inuit Social and Cultural Issues

Video – Breathing Easy in Your Community- How to use the Community Resource kit
– a training video for health workers (each copy includes English 17 minutes and Inuktitut 17 minutes)

Inuit Broadcasting Corporation’s Takuginai Episode

Storybook Grampa and His Pipe (In English).

For more information on the above, as well as posters, leaflets, and many more resources please contact:
Pauktuutit Inuit Women’s Association
192 Bank Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 1W8
Tel (613) 238-3977 Fax (613) 238-1787
http://www.pauktuutit.on.ca/main_e.html