Lisa's story: One of so many lost as opioids claim Indigenous lives at alarming rate

When Martin Iron Shirt thinks of his sister, Lisa Red Young Man, he immediately remembers one thing in particular: she had an open door policy for those in need.

She didn't have much. But when people came knocking, she would always give.

"She allowed them into her home. Gave them a place to sleep. She was always so friendly and smiling, joking around," Iron Shirt said.

Life on Piikani Nation hadn't been easy for Iron Shirt and Red Young Man, especially because they had grown up very poor.

But Iron Shirt saw his sister as being resilient and compassionate: whether working as a security guard for the nation or as a receptionist at Piikani Housing, she did it all with a friendly smile.

She loved her eight children and her "fur babies" — as a young girl, she adored her grandfather's dog, Tiger.

"She always had a fight in her. She really loved her children. And, you know, as tough as life was for her, she still tried her best to give them the best life that she could provide for them," Iron Shirt said.

Red Young Man struggled with addictions throughout her adult life. Two months before she died, a fire started at her home and quickly spread out of control. She lost everything.

"It almost seemed like from then it was just a downward spiral," Iron Shirt said.

She left Piikani and went to find drugs in Lethbridge, Alta., where she overdosed.

Red Young Man was one of at least 1,706 Albertans who died of opioid poisoning last year. That works out, on average, to more than four deaths each and every day in 2023, the deadliest year on record for the province.

The opioid crisis in Alberta has reached across populations and communities over the past number of years. But the First Nations population has been disproportionately affected. 

The Alberta government has previously released data specific to Indigenous people in the province.

The last data release was in 2021. A spokesperson with the province said that data requires collaboration with First Nations across the province, which requires a significant amount of data verification and consultation prior to public release.