A young Innu man inhales gasoline as he makes his way home at dawn. While some of the children from Davis Inlet may be getting the help they need, many of the alcoholic adults appear to be getting worse. And what's even more disturbing is the widely held belief that most of their children will quickly resume gas sniffing once they return to this bleak place. Some residents dump their sewage out the window as they have no running water or toilets. And I know why.
Children sniff because they want to sniff.
I don't know what they want. Rich, who was born in Davis Inlet, admits that she used to sniff gas when she was 16 or 17. Then she started drinking. She says she swore off alcohol a year ago, but that's not apparent on this day. Her stringy black hair and bloated face make her look 10 years older than she is.