09/01/2025
Today is National Overdose Awareness Day.
Back in 2023, I was approached by the BC Centre for Substance Use to create images for their Addictions Care and Treatment Online Certificate program.
One of those pieces is called Harm Reduction is Medicine.
This image was created to remind us that harm reduction is medicine—just like our own traditional medicines. Within the artwork, I included cedar, a bundle of sage, to***co, and sweetgrass. On the needle at the bottom, I drew a tree of life from my Kwakwaka'wakw background, a symbol often connected to cedar—honoring the way we use every part of it and the abundance it carries in our lives.
The S-shapes and diamonds woven into the design reflect the strength we hold as a community: when we recognize harm reduction as medicine, we uplift and support one another.
For me, harm reduction is medicine and is needed in every capacity of healing. It goes beyond keeping people safer while using substances—it’s about undoing the harms of colonialism that have put Indigenous peoples at higher risk. Indigenous harm reduction is about re-connection: to our cultures, to our medicines, and to the relationships we hold with the spiritual, human, and natural worlds. It’s through this that we keep our communities safe, keep our loved ones with us longer, and uplift those on their healing journeys.
On this day, and every day, may we hold space for those we’ve lost, those we love living with addictions, and those still with us. 💜
