Understanding FASD as important as preventing it, says councillor

“We had a very aggressive plan to bring awareness, but we’re finding it’s not as easy as we thought it would be.”

By Shari Narine
Windspeaker.com Contributor
ALEXIS NAKOTA SIOUX NATION, Alta.

Empathy and education are two key factors that will make a difference with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), says Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Councillor Erwin “Dino” Letendre.

It’s a twin message that Letendre and members of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation/FASD Network Collaborative Project began spreading through the Yellowhead Tribal Council’s Kind Heart Project in 2015.

But two years later, delivering that message has remained a challenge, Letendre says.

“We had a very aggressive plan to bring awareness, but we’re finding it’s not as easy as we thought it would be,” he said. They ended up having to adapt as they went along.

A change in strategy was forced, partly, because of the way programs are operated.

“There’s…