CHARITABLE DONATION

Conference organizers are committing a minimal charitable donation from this event of $20,000 to Operation Drum.

Drugs, especially those laced with fentanyl, are taking countless Indigenous lives in cities and communities—leaving few families untouched. Much information, though well-intentioned, often appears too foreign and disconnected from those who need it most. To be of value, digital information also has to be accessible to those it is intended to serve.

In response to this crisis, the website Operation Drum (O.D.) is being built to help those suffering from substance abuse disorders, and their families and communities. The O.D. website is intended to provide indigenous people with the opportunity to call for real change, and to share information and opinions. O.D. will also seek to provide a purposely built, culturally-appropriate, and easily-to-use and accessible phone application that can provide some or all of the information described, as well as easy access to local emergency contact information, and general information to reduce the number of deaths from over dose. The Operation Drum Foundation has been incorporated to as a non-profit vehicle to achieve these ends.

While O.D. is the acronym for overdose, it is used in this context is to mean Operation Drum. For Indigenous Peoples the drum is commonly used as a metaphor for the heartbeat of humanity. Like the Raven bringing sunlight to illuminate the world, the O.D. website is intended to be the drumbeat bringing light to the horrific impacts of drug overdose deaths, to call for constructive action, and to provide accessible and useful information for families and communities.