kamloopsthisweek.com kamloopsthisweek kamthisweek
#YKASTRONG
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | Volume 33 No. 58
Chance of showers High 16 C Low 7 C
BALLOT BONANZA
HELP KTW HELP OTHERS
Learn about National Down Syndrome Week
Still 6,000 votes to be counted in Kamloops-North
Five groups will benefit from this year’s KTW Christmas Cheer Fund
PAGE A23
PAGE A19
PAGE A5
A cultural map of the opioid crisis JESSICA WALLACE STAFF REPORTER jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
A
bout 40 years ago, cultural mapping was developed amidst land claim issues in Northern Canada. Indigenous land claims based on oral history couldn’t be proven in court. As a result, hundreds of maps were drawn. The maps were so precise, they passed legal threshold and the court ruled in favour of local Indigenous land rights. Today, that same research technique has been endorsed by the United Nations and is being used by Thompson Rivers University researchers working with the City of Kamloops as a way to gain a deeper understanding of the opioid crisis as overdose deaths continue to rise in the city and throughout British Columbia. “I think what we’ll have is a much clearer view, a much clearer definition of the issues at stake in our local community,” said Will Garrett-Petts, TRU’s associate vice president of research and graduate studies and project lead. Garrett-Petts said the city approached the university about the
project about a year ago, after the university had been consulting with Urban Systems for the City of Vernon on a similar project. The City of Kamloops’ acting social and community development supervisor, Ty Helgason, said information gleaned would be valuable for developing supports for people experiencing addiction, as well as for reducing community stigma. The city and university recently renewed a memorandum of understanding that highlighted the importance of the relationship for issues including rebuilding from the COVID-19 pandemic and noted the project as one on which the city and university were collaborating. Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian has stressed the importance of such partnerships, included in his 2018 mayoral campaign. He said the project is one example of how the memorandum is increasing research capacity for the city and research opportunity for the university. Christian said TRU staff, faculty and graduate students have the expertise, noting more is expected in the future.
SPECIAL PURCHASE! 2019 OR
$75 WEEKLY WITH $2000 DOWN
This is one of the many images from the cultural mapping sessions. Among the project’s objectives to enable new ways of thinking about the opioid crisis as it is played out, leading to systemic forms of change.
See MAPPING, A6
CRUZES FROM $19,99
5
11 TO CHOOSE FROM!
685 NOTRE DAME DRIVE KAMLOOPS, BC MON-SAT 8:30 AM-6:00 PM 250-374-1135
D#11184
TODAY’S WEATHER
UPS AND DOWNS