“Suicide Rates Among Inuit Are Shockingly High At Six To

The social issue that I would like to address as a social worker is the epidemic of indigenous youth suicide in Canada. On the macro level, I believe this issue can be understood through two fundamental components: the residual effects of colonization trauma passed through generations and the effects of current colonial-based, neo-liberal institutional actions on indigenous youth.

Secondly, the federal government of Canada funding towards suicide prevention programs in Aboriginal communities helps stop youth suicide. First Nation youths are 5 to 6 times more likely to commit suicide compared to non-aboriginal youths (Kassam, 2017). A community-based suicide prevention program is a key to helping stop the aboriginal youth suicide crisis. For instance, another northern Ontario First Nation community, Wapekeka, was a leader in suicide prevention (Kassam, 2017). Wapekeka First Nation’s suicide prevention program was working until the federal government cut funding towards the program and the spokesperson for Wapekeka First Nation, Joshua Frogg said, “twenty-two years we ran it until it drove us into a deficit. We couldn’t do it anymore.” (Kassam, 2017).

Since December of 2015, there has been an alarming rate of suicides to occur in Manitoba, Canada on the Cross Lake First Nation Indian Reserve. Since then six students have committed suicide while ten others have attempted it. Most of the people who have attempted suicide are ninth and tenth graders of that school and are currently on a suicide prevention list. The chief of the small community of only six thousand eight hundred individuals is calling a state of emergency. Shirley Robinson who is the chief told CNN, “There's so much hurt, there's so much pain. You can feel it in every direction of our nation. Only last year there was one suicide while in some of the recent past years there had been no suicides. The community said it is difficult

A Review of Temporal trends and geographic patterns of teen suicide in Alaska, 1979-1993. Bradford D Gessner. Suicide & Life - Threatening Behavior. New York: Fall 1997. Vol. 27, Iss. 3; pg. 264, 10 pgs

Aboriginal people represent less than 3% of the total population in BC. Yet, they account for more than 9% of all suicides in BC (Chandler). The numbers of suicides amongst aboriginal youth are even more alarming – nearly one-fourth of all youth suicides in BC are committed by aboriginals and more than half of all aboriginal suicides are committed by youth (Chandler). The fact that indigenous communities in Canada have the highest rate of suicide of any culturally identifiable group in the world implies that these alarming statistics may not solely be a result of aboriginal communities belonging to a minority cultural group. I will attempt to build a speculative hypothesis behind the significantly high suicide rates amongst aboriginal

The inability to make and prolong relationships leads to a sense of isolation, and contributes to poor mental health and depression. Hospitalisation rates for self-harm are representative of mental illness, depression and stress – and in 2006, Indigenous Australians were 3 times more likely to be hospitalized for severe self-harm than other Australians. In 2011, 80% of suicides of the ages 19 to 24 were

According to the New York Times, “at least 103 attempts by people ages 12 to 24 occurred from December to March [in Pine Ridge]…emergency medical workers…say they have been called to the scenes of suicide attempts, sometimes several times a day.” Facing this obvious crisis on the Reservation, any sanguine citizen would be of the belief that the government has redoubled its efforts to assist the community of Pine Ridge in stopping the death of Oglala Lakota children. But, as those who are more acquainted with the status quo on American Indian reservations would expect, the mental health system present on the Reservation remains tragically

The rate of suicide among aboriginal Canadians is three times higher than that of the general population, and the rate for Inuit youth is eleven times higher than the national average. These are some alarming

Among NA/AN adults, this rate is 75% higher than that of the general population. Suicide is not isolated to NA/AN adults – among NA/AN youth, the rates of death due to suicide are double the general population, and NA/AN teens experience the highest rate of suicide of any population group in America. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among NA/ANs aged 15 to 24. On a standardized survey, fifteen percent of students in schools located on Native American reservations in 2010 reported having attempted suicide in the prior year. Among youth, the most common reasons for attempting suicide were feelings of hopelessness or despair, bleak future prospects, domestic trouble, and bullying. There is concern among some mental health professionals that suicide is having a contagion-like effect in some communities and schools – feeling neglected, youth can be attracted to the displays of mourning that follow a death; and once they hear about the method of suicide, they imitate it. Sadly, in some communities, suicide attempts have become commonplace and a normal part of daily

Census, the NA/AN population is young (30% are in their teens) and projected to grow by 6 million between now and the year 2060 (U.S. Census, 2010).4 For a young population that is projected to grow, the need to focus on their poor mental health outcomes is evident. Close to 20% of NA/AN children reported substance abuse or dependence within the last six months in one standardized survey.5 NA/AN children are more likely to be victims of a violent crime, to be hit or killed by an automobile or to drown than either their African American or white peers.6 The fact that most NA/AN children survive these events, however, carries the high possibility that they carry the memory and experience of a highly traumatic event into their lives, which could impact their subsequent behaviors.6 One of the most unfortunate statistics that has been receiving much attention recently for its severity in the NA/AN community is deaths due to suicide. For NA/AN youth, the rates of death due to suicide are double the general population, and NA/AN teens experience the highest rate of suicide of any population group in America.7 On a standardized survey, fifteen percent of students in schools located on Native American reservations in 2009 reported having attempted suicide in the prior

American Indians have the highest suicide rates in Montana and make up 7% of the population (Uken, 2012, p. 3). The high unemployment and substance abuse is shown to be a major factor (Uken, 2012, p. 3).There is a shortage of employment all over Montana, not just pertaining to the reservations. This shortage and not having enough mental healthcare professionals to cover all of the small towns in Montana, limits people being seen and treated (Uken, 2012, p.4,para.6).

While the Native American population encounters many health disparities; of growing concern, is the rates of suicide among these communities. The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines health disparities as “the variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between socioeconomic and /or geographically defined population groups”. When looking at the Native American population of the northeastern United States, there are many factors that contribute to these alarming numbers. These include gun availability, rural locations of communities and reservations, privacy of Native people, distrust of outside help, alcoholism, depression, lack of resources, and acculturation stress. Many of these factors are a way of life for the Native American population. Guns are in most homes and used for hunting and sport. The rural locations are a way of being surrounded by all that is living and therefore, well-being of the people. Alcohol abuse is a learned and shared behavior among many families and throughout the generations. The high rates of depression are often self- medicated and contribute to the substance abuse issues already abundant within the community. It is a difficult situation to realize the very culture of a people may be the conduit to the problems they encounter. This can make the health care provider’s jobs even more difficult. As Paquin (2011) explained, “When nurses focus

One reason suicide rates may be going up is because a side effect warning needed to be placed on antipsychotic drug stating that the drug may increase to likelihood of people under 26 on the drug to commit suicide. So doctors don’t want to take the risk and decide not to prescribe the drug to patient that need it. Prevention for Native nations is harder because in their culture how people pass and mental disease are not as widely discussed as it is in most American communities. Depression is talked about with children in many health programs in school. This doesn’t happen in the Native nations as much that they are not able to see the sign of someone who is thinking about suicide. Not, all suicides are preventable, but some are if people around

A lack of stable social networks seemed to be associated with suicide mortality at the individual level in Greenland,” (Ikka and Jukkala 1). Although Greenland endures a long dark winter, most suicides occur in summer especially the peak of June. Science News said the excessive hours of daylight during the season leads to insomnia, disrupting sleeping cycles and schedules, (Ghosh 1). “Researchers theorize that the brief and bright summer sun disrupts winter sleep cycles, alters serotonin levels, and causes some Greenlanders to snap, especially those in the far north, where the sun stays above the horizon for weeks on end,”

While discovering theories and research by sociologist Emile Durkheim, I was able to see a clear connection to how these theories could be applied to the amount of suicides to those of first nation decent. Considering citizens from first nations groups have been estimated to be eleven times more likely to commit suicide, there are underlying factors of why this may be. Durkheim’s theory states that suicide is a sociological issue and as we have seen there are many ways society could affect ones emotional state.