Little Graves

There are some societies that pay especial attention to the early deaths of children.  Including babies still in utero, aborted naturally or by mechanical means.  In Japanese temples countless tiny graves can be seen decorated with offerings, memories of when some of those babies were still with their loving parents before death took them for whatever reason.  Stuffed animals, rattles, articles of clothing, flowers in memory of what once was and no longer existed.

Alongside those graves are little images of a baby-protecting Buddha, named Jesu.  That heart-breaking little statuette appeared everywhere on temple grounds representing the love and protection of babies, born and unborn.  It seems that in Canada the Ojibway culture expresses its reverence for unborn life as well with tiny graves. 

And in Northern Ontario, at the Fort Hope aboriginal community it has been noted that the prevalence of those tiny graves is growing.

"It is our belief that right from inception a fetus is a human being, so they do a proper burial.  There seems to be more graves, these little plots.  There is an increase....  That does say something."  Liz Atlookan, healthcare manager, Fort Hope

And it is related, those little graves expanding on the landscape, to an epidemic of prescription painkiller addictions.  Pregnant women become reliant on the use of Oxycodone or other narcotics with similar properties.  Mothers who lose their pregnancies through the effect of narcotic use.  When the illicit supply of those drugs dry up or the pregnant women decids to stop taking drugs concerned for their child's future, sometimes that precipitates death of the fetus through miscarriage.

There are many reasons for women, however, belatedly, hoping to avoid complications for their newborn.  Far better that they not become addicted to drugs to begin with.  Or, having become addicted, making the decision to cease using drugs before they become pregnant, not during pregnancy.  When babies are born to addicted mothers those babies are often born with withdrawal symptoms.  They suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty feeding and more extreme symptoms.

The Fort Hope and other reserves in the Nishwawbe Aski Nation region close to Thunder Bay recognize a 25% to 75% surge of women with opioid dependency problems.  "It's the impact on two lives. Women who are struggling with addiction also struggle to parent....  

"These are the people we are looking to build our society.  If nothing else, out of self-interest I would have thought there would be more urge to help these women, help these families", says Dr. Claudette Chase who professionally serves these First Nations communities.  It is suspected by experts that narcotic withdrawal stunts the blood supply to the placenta, resulting in fetus fatalities.

Canadians are known to be the world's second-largest consumers of opioid painkillers per capita.  Addictions to drugs and often fatal overdoses have grown in incidence over the past number of years.  There are more deaths caused by drug addiction in the Province of Ontario than deaths accounted for by drowning.

Many aboriginal communities have been particularly impacted.  The Nishnawbe Aski Nation estimates as many as half of its 45,000 residents are addicted to Oxycodone.  Most women were given prescriptions for Percocet or OxyContin after minor accidents or injuries, and from there developed their dependencies. 

May of those women were previously involved with substance abuse, suffering also from domestic violence or mental-health problems.  Methadone replacement treatment to get women off more dangerous narcotics seems to work within the 58 government funded addiction treatment centres in First Nations communities across the country.

And those little graves keep appearing.  How much can any society accomplish without the active and determined participation in good faith of the people who are themselves involved?  What will it take to make those involved become responsible and self-involved?