Healthcare Not Handcuffs: Community discusses drug addiction, mental health

July 09--BEMIDJI -- Nearly 40 community members turned out Saturday to discuss mental health, racism in the justice system, foster care and drug addiction as part of a panel event, Healthcare Not Handcuffs, put on by Minnesota-based advocacy organization Voices for Racial Justice.

Four panelists: Dee Sweeney, a public defender for the Ninth Judicial District; Michael Reyes, a youth drug prevention coordinator with Leech Lake; Curtis Buckanaga and John Gonzalez, a psychology professor at BSU, provided their points of view on issues Bemidji's indigenous community faces, particularly in regard to drug addiction.

Nicole Buckanaga, the Bemidji representative for Voices for Racial Justice, opened the event by speaking about racism she has faced from an early age.

"We all know what the war on drugs is," Nicole Buckanaga said. "It's the war on us."

The panelists focused largely on the connection between mental health issues and drug addiction, as well as the lack of social services in the area. All four supported the decriminalization of drugs to some degree. Gonzalez praised Portugal's decriminalization of all drugs, from marijuana to heroin to meth.

"If you decriminalize drugs...everybody fears that 'Oh my god, we're going to turn into a bunch of drug addicts across society,'" Gonzalez said. However, he added, drug abuse in Portugal actually dropped after drugs were decriminalized.

Curtis Buckanaga encouraged attendees to treat each other more gently while speaking about mental health issues within Bemidji's native population.

"My community is in crisis and we're all a tragedy away from losing our composure," he said. "We need to be careful of each other and be more delicate."

Every panelist spoke out about the importance of avoiding judgment. Sweeney emphasized the effort she puts into getting to know every client. Each time she meets a client, the public defender asks for their life story, from the day they were born.

"It's always wrong to make assumptions," Sweeney said. "Our brains just fill in the empty space that we didn't get from the other person, so I try to eliminate the empty space, I try to fill it with real information."

Nicole Buckanaga, several attendees and every panelist focused on the importance of community involvement. The event was organized after months of meetings among Bemidji's native community, and Buckanaga invited everyone to attend meetings the second Wednesday of every month in the meeting room at Lueken's Village Foods South.

"What we need to get to is a more participatory democracy...that's what we can do here in Bemidji," Curtis Buckanaga said. "We need to let our politicians know that we are disgruntled and we want them to act."

Explore related topics:NewsDee SweeneyMichael ReyesCurtis BuckanagaJohn GonzalezNicole BuckanagaDrugsnative americanPolice

Grace Pastoor

Grace Pastoor covers crime, courts and social issues for the Bemidji Pioneer. Contact her at (218) 333-9796 or gpastoor@bemidjipioneer.com

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