To commemorate National Addictions Awareness Week, members of Yaqan Nuʔkiy (Lower Kootenay Band), Interior Health staff, and Creston community members came together on Friday, Nov. 21 for the fifth annual Canoe Walk, showing solidarity and support for those impacted by the toxic drug crisis, which disproportionately affects Indigenous Peoples and communities across Canada.
The annual six-kilometre Canoe Walk from Creston Valley Hospital to the Lower Kootenay Band site, was established in recognition of the sturgeon-nosed canoe gifted from Yaqan Nuʔkiy to the Creston Valley Hospital in 2012. This canoe was originally carried by Yaqan Nuʔkiy members from the Lower Kootenay Band site to Creston Valley Hospital. A sturgeon-nosed canoe is “representative of life and is unique to Yaqan Nuʔkiy.”
Through the collaboration of Yaqan Nuʔkiy and IH, a second canoe walk was organized on November 23, 2022 and has been held annually since.
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About National Addictions Awareness Week
Held annually in Canada Nov. 17–21, 2025, National Addiction Awareness Week is organized by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. It promotes open dialogue on substance use, harm reduction, treatment and recovery.
The theme for National Addiction Awareness Week 2025, “Anchoring Hope,” focuses on reducing stigma and providing essential support for those affected by addiction.
