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Fentanyl is taking Native lives. We are taking action.
Tori Denison is the oldest of five. In the home where her mother died of a fentanyl overdose, Tori is running a household and running a business.
Chore lists hang on the walls. The pantry is stocked. Tori studies for her college classes — she’s interested in a law career — and gets her two sisters off to school. On weekends, she makes candles and designs tote bags to sell.
She was 20 when her mother died. It was September 2022, and her mom, Crystal, was 40.
Now Tori works to be a different kind of role model for her sisters, as well as their legal guardian. She is doing her best to show them that life can be really good.
Fentanyl is taking Native lives, causing harm and loss that seem to touch just about everyone in our families, tribes, and communities. But Tori is finding ways to protect herself and her sisters. And she is not alone. Throughout Washington, we are finding ways to protect our people against fentanyl.
TORI DENISON
'There is more in life'
Fentanyl is taking Native lives. We are taking action.
Tori Denison is the oldest of five. In the home where her mother died of a fentanyl overdose, Tori is running a household and running a business.
Chore lists hang on the walls. The pantry is stocked. Tori studies for her college classes — she’s interested in a law career — and gets her two sisters off to school. On weekends, she makes candles and designs tote bags to sell.
She was 20 when her mother died. It was September 2022, and her mom, Crystal, was 40.
Now Tori works to be a different kind of role model for her sisters, as well as their legal guardian. She is doing her best to show them that life can be really good.
Fentanyl is taking Native lives, causing harm and loss that seem to touch just about everyone in our families, tribes, and communities. But Tori is finding ways to protect herself and her sisters. And she is not alone. Throughout Washington, we are finding ways to protect our people against fentanyl.
TORI DENISON
'There is more in life'
The drug supply is unsafe and unreliable.
Fentanyl is an opioid, so it works like heroin or morphine. But it’s much stronger and more addictive. It’s causing many more overdoses and deaths, especially in Native communities.
Fentanyl is commonly mixed in with heroin, cocaine, meth, and other drugs, or it’s sold just as fentanyl. Some people take it intentionally. Others take it unknowingly — because no one can tell by look, taste, or smell whether any drug has fentanyl in it or how much.
Either way, a tiny amount can cause overdose or death. Depending on the person, an amount of fentanyl the size of two salt grains can be fatal.
The drug supply is unsafe and unreliable.
Fentanyl is an opioid, so it works like heroin or morphine. But it’s much stronger and more addictive. It’s causing many more overdoses and deaths, especially in Native communities.
Fentanyl is commonly mixed in with heroin, cocaine, meth, and other drugs, or it’s sold just as fentanyl. Some people take it intentionally. Others take it unknowingly — because no one can tell by look, taste, or smell whether any drug has fentanyl in it or how much.
Either way, a tiny amount can cause overdose or death. Depending on the person, an amount of fentanyl the size of two salt grains can be fatal.
Clara, Tori, Jesse, and Sophia Denison | Spokane Tribe
For our lives, we are teaching, learning, connecting, and healing.
So, like Tori Denison, we are talking with others about the unpredictable drug supply.
Like Levi Horn, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, we are showing people how to use naloxone to prevent fatal overdoses.
Like Nisqually Indian Tribe member Ken Choke, we’re talking with others, without judgment, about finding drug treatment that aligns with our values and works in our lives.
Like Eva James, a member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, we are lending hope to people living in recovery.
Like Monica Tonasket, of the Spokane Tribe, we are working to educate others and prevent addiction from starting.
Like Isaac Tonasket, of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, we are choosing sobriety while embracing culture and family.
We are talking with our kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews — not just once, but always. We’re telling our friends and cousins about the realities of this drug that’s infecting our communities. We’re reminding our brothers and sisters that they are strong, and that resilience grows from culture and connection. For our lives, we are taking action.
For our lives, we are teaching, learning, connecting, and healing.
So, like Tori Denison, we are talking with others about the unpredictable drug supply.
Like Levi Horn, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, we are showing people how to use naloxone to prevent fatal overdoses.
Like Nisqually Indian Tribe member Ken Choke, we’re talking with others, without judgment, about finding drug treatment that aligns with our values and works in our lives.
Like Eva James, a member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, we are lending hope to people living in recovery.
Like Monica Tonasket, of the Spokane Tribe, we are working to educate others and prevent addiction from starting.
Like Isaac Tonasket, of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, we are choosing sobriety while embracing culture and family.
We are talking with our kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews — not just once, but always. We’re telling our friends and cousins about the realities of this drug that’s infecting our communities. We’re reminding our brothers and sisters that they are strong, and that resilience grows from culture and connection. For our lives, we are taking action.
Tori and Clara Denison make candles to sell at craft fairs.
For Tori, naloxone and conversations are ways to help.
Before the day she died, Tori’s mom had already overdosed once. The first time, Tori found Crystal unresponsive at home. She drove in shock and panic four blocks to the home of some neighbors, who grabbed naloxone and came back with Tori. They used naloxone, also called Narcan, to reverse Crystal’s overdose. They also called 911. Crystal survived.
The day Crystal died, she was too far gone by the time Tori found her to be saved. But Tori knows naloxone can save lives, because she’s seen it happen. Her advice is to keep naloxone nearby, whether it’s at home or in your bag.
Tori sees her experience with her mom as a motivator to help herself and others. She says:
I want to have a better life. I want my sisters to have the best life they can. They just need a good role model.
And she talks with her siblings about fentanyl and addiction. Tori and her sisters, Clara and Sophia, also live with their brother, Jesse.
“I give them the advice to not do it,” she says. “They have seen how it happens.”
Tori and Clara Denison make candles to sell at craft fairs.
For Tori, naloxone and conversations are ways to help.
Before the day she died, Tori’s mom had already overdosed once. The first time, Tori found Crystal unresponsive at home. She drove in shock and panic four blocks to the home of some neighbors, who grabbed naloxone and came back with Tori. They used naloxone, also called Narcan, to reverse Crystal’s overdose. They also called 911. Crystal survived.
The day Crystal died, she was too far gone by the time Tori found her to be saved. But Tori knows naloxone can save lives, because she’s seen it happen. Her advice is to keep naloxone nearby, whether it’s at home or in your bag.
Tori sees her experience with her mom as a motivator to help herself and others. She says:
I want to have a better life. I want my sisters to have the best life they can. They just need a good role model.
And she talks with her siblings about fentanyl and addiction. Tori and her sisters, Clara and Sophia, also live with their brother, Jesse.
“I give them the advice to not do it,” she says. “They have seen how it happens.”
