‘If I ever show fear, then that’s it for me,’ says Behchokǫ̀ Chief Bertha Rabesca Zoe

Behchokǫ̀ Chief Bertha Rabesca Zoe has been warned to “take precautionary safety initiatives” as she explores legal “grey areas, that the police can’t go,” to rid her community of drug traffickers.

Since being elected in August 2025, she made national headlines by threatening to take drastic action against drug dealers and that she was ready to declare a state of emergency over what is largely crack cocaine use.

Part of CKLB’s original story on Chief Rabesca Zoe’s election in 2025.

She said a number of measures were being considered for Behchokǫ̀, including road blockades, street cameras, more street lights, drug sniffing dogs and drug testing for employees.

There are the overdoses, property damage, thefts, threats, kidnappings, serious assaults and even killings that come with getting into debt over crack, or having a falling out with the traffickers, she said at the time.

“I film those little punks in my community. They know I’m after them … I’ll deal with them, but it’s the bigger fish that we also need to focus on,” said Rabesca Zoe, a lawyer, at the annual Voices for Peace Conference at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre on Sunday in Yellowknife.

“But, if I if I ever show fear, then that’s it for me. They got me. But Mamà-cho raised a tough woman, so we’re not happy now. And I’m taking my community to that next level, and whoever is with us is with us, and whoever can’t be with us, you know, we can sure use a lot of prayers and and good wishes.”

The Chief said there is a “very huge homeless population,” in Behchokǫ̀, with the housing crisis compounded by inter-generational mental health issues and drug dealers every day.

“So, how do we combat that, so that we can bring at least some peace to our people in our community?” asked Rabesca Zoe.

“My grandma — I was raised by my grandmother — she’s lived to be 99, very traditional. Doesn’t speak a word of English. Doesn’t know anything about anything to do with the modern world. And she always said to me, (in Tłı̨chǫ), ‘Impossible is not a word. You have to at least try, try different ways if you can. Look at all the different options.’

“When they say that, ‘You can’t do much about drug dealers.’ I would say, ‘Well, no. We have to look at all the different options,’ and so I do have a plan for that.”

Rabesca Zoe said there are many approaches that can be taken — “without breaking the law” — as there are certain things you can do as a citizen, such as declaring an emergency.

Since being elected, Rabesca Zoe has explored how to declare a state of emergency over illegal drugs, though community leadership has actively considered and discussed the option.

“But again, you need to have a plan for that. You can’t just do it for the sake of deterrence, right? You need to have a concrete plan, so so in Behchokǫ̀, that’s what I’m taking on,” she said.

“But one thing I’ve learned is that people are resilient. There’s lots of good people in our communities that want to help and take on the problems. You got aunties and grandmas and uncles out there, you know.

“We know who the (drug dealers) are, but again, as a lawyer, I know what it takes to convict a person to prove beyond a reasonable doubt — that you know a person says, ‘Yeah, I went to that place at this time, bought this much drug, I bought it off this guy, and here it is, and here’s my witness statement.’

“Nobody’s going to do that. We know that, right? So, what are the ways of dealing with drug dealers that are taking advantage of the most vulnerable in our society, and so this is where I’m gonna step in and do as much as I can to address drug dealers in my community, and I’m reaching out to other like-minded people in other communities on how we can share and learn from those experiences.

Rabesca Zoe said the illegal drug supply chain must be broken, especially as the North — and smaller communities outside the larger centres must brace themselves for the massive government investment coming here.

“So there’s going to be lots and lots of economic opportunity that’s going to be happening. We need to be prepared today … my plan is to make sure my community and the people in my community are all ready for what’s happening.

“We also need to prepare for the social impact that is coming — the social impact is going to be huge. All this money that’s coming up here, the drugs are going to follow that and whatever else. And so we need to be prepared for that.

“We love our communities, and we, as community, make it a community. And we want to make sure our families grow up in a peaceful, safe environment. And so, what are we going to do together to make sure that we create that environment for our children and grandchildren?”

Chief Rabesca Zoe also shared some personal stories at the conference:

“I’ve been staying in Yellowknife. This is my fourth week. I’ve got one more week to go. Why I’m here is because my son works at the mines. He’s a single dad with three girls. The oldest is 18.

“My oldest granddaughter has been drinking for weeks and weeks and weeks. It is what it is. So, I decided to stay here when I took three weeks off work. I wasn’t planning to be here, but I end up here, and I always believe that things happen for a reason, right?

“You can’t dwell on negativity and that, and make best of the situation. And then it dawned on me one day that I was meant to be here. I was like, you know, this is where I was supposed to be to help my granddaughter.

“She’s been sober for three weeks now, you know, and she’s going to treatment. So we have to try. You know, we all struggle with that in our communities.

Behchokǫ̀ RCMP display approximately three kilograms of suspected cocaine, seized along with cash, and drug paraphernalia during a traffic stop in May 2026 (Photo: RCMP)

“I had a sister who had her kids got taken away. She was evicted. They had nowhere to go. They had drug dealers living in their homes. She was addicted to crack. Her husband lost a job, he was working at the mines.

“They had everything taken away, repossessed. They had nothing. They were left with nothing. Now they’re back in one of our communities and rebuilding their life. They got their kids back.
They’ve been without and sober for a few months, and one by like day by day, they’re rebuilding their life.

“So that’s the kind of we need to support more of our people like that. And one of the things that we do. In my view, wrong in my in our community is that we are Indigenous government as Kitchen government, right?

“Now that I’m chief and wanting to get things done, and that we get bogged down with bureaucracy, with policies, procedure, which is fine, but they need to be designed in such a way that it can make things happen, and they need to be more humanized.”

“One thing I’m really learning in this job is that the love of the people that you have just breaks your heart when you can’t address like that situation out there.”