tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599884637544053429.post599866881276875422..comments2017-11-09T20:08:44.913-08:00Comments on Native American Suicide Epidemic Awareness: Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599884637544053429.post-21478245642673314632009-02-19T11:10:00.000-08:002009-02-19T11:10:00.000-08:00Youth suicide rate concerns Native leadersLuke Sim...Youth suicide rate concerns Native leaders<BR/>Luke Simcoe, The StarPhoenix<BR/>Published: Wednesday, February 04, 2009<BR/>Disproportionately high suicide rates among aboriginal youth continue to plague Saskatchewan communities and the problem may even be on the rise, say representatives from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN).<BR/><BR/>Speaking at the FSIN Youth Suicide Prevention Conference on Tuesday, Vice-Chief Lyle Whitefish said more needs to be done to address the problem.<BR/><BR/>"Suicide is an issue and it's not acceptable," he said.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Email to a friend<BR/><BR/>Printer friendly<BR/>Font:****According to Health Canada, suicide rates are five to seven times higher in First Nations communities than in the rest of Canada. In extreme cases, some aboriginal communities have seen suicide rates 800 times higher than the national average.<BR/><BR/>The rates are particularly high among aboriginal youth living on reserves.<BR/><BR/>Although they were reluctant to discuss the suicide rate in the province, FSIN executives acknowledged the issue is a problem in Saskatchewan.<BR/><BR/>"It's on the rise, if you ask me," said Vice-Chief Glen Pratt.<BR/><BR/>The Saulteaux First Nation near Cochin would likely agree. The 500-person reserve has been rocked by at least eight suicides in the past seven years, says Velma Night, director of the Saulteaux Health Centre.<BR/><BR/>"Most of them were youth," she said.<BR/><BR/>After two 17-year-old girls took their own lives in 2007, the Saulteaux First Nation took it upon itself to tackle the problem. It joined forces with the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy and has since become a national suicide prevention site.<BR/><BR/>One of five such aboriginal communities across the country, Saulteaux is identifying risk factors and warning signs associated with suicide and is acting as a testing ground for preventative initiatives. Its experience will ultimately help to improve the national strategy, says Night.<BR/><BR/>"The answers are here in the community," she said.<BR/><BR/>According to Pratt, the root causes of suicide are numerous. Risk factors include everything from addiction and mental illness to family issues, stigmatization and the isolation that comes with living on remote reserves.<BR/><BR/>"Individuals are feeling lost, with nowhere to go and no one to support them," Pratt said.<BR/><BR/>Equally numerous, he says, are the solutions.<BR/><BR/>First Nations groups need to strengthen family and cultural ties, he said. They also need additional resources to be able to provide recreation centres, libraries and community programs to youth as alternatives to drugs or gangs.<BR/><BR/>"We're not doing enough for our young people," Pratt said. "It takes a village to raise a child."<BR/><BR/>lsimcoe@sp.canwest.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com