As I drove home to Ely on a recent Thursday, along the winding tree-lined Highway 169, this was the thought running through my mind. I had just finished reporting on the Summit on the Crisis of Indian Children in Minnesota at the Fortune Bay Casino, where tribal leaders from across the state had met to discuss the devastating state of many of their children due to opiate addictions, such as methadone and oxycodone, in the adults of their communities.

These opiate addictions have only led to tragic outcomes: burglarizing, elder abuse, poverty, poor health, and the eventual destruction of families. Prenatal exposure to these drugs causes many children to enter the world already addicted to the same evils as their mothers. Many kids end up living with relatives or in foster care homes because their parents can’t provide a safe and stable environment for them. Really, truly, tragic outcomes are threatening the future of their kids.

Yet, in the face of this cancer, these tribal leaders came together with such a strong and steady presence. They seemed actively aware of the state of their communities, appropriately concerned, and grounded in their love for each other. They talked with compassion, told stories – traditional stories – and reached out to each other and the present government social and county workers like they were all family.

Steady. Compassionate. Respectful. Strong.