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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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Questions & Answers

1.Why are the suicide rates in indigenous people so high?

Suicide rate in indigenous people are so high because of many reason. 1.4 million aboriginal members live in poor conditions, these conditions lead them to believe that they are less than the average person. On top of this they lack adequate employment opportunities so many of them stay at home without the opportunity to distract themselves from their own personal trauma. 40% of indigenous youth live in poverty, meaning that after everything they can’t even afford to obtain things to better the conditions they live in. Not only do they experience a hard lifestyle, but ancestors of indigenous children experienced the abuse of residential schools. Since the children were so young in these schools it all they learned so when they were released they took these issues out on their own children. This is why it has been passed down through 4 generations. Taking all these things into consideration, it is not alarming that suicide rates continue to rise in indigenous communities.

2.Is there a common reasoning for these suicides?

Throughout my research I have been able to find that there is a common reasoning for these suicides. Residential schools went on for so many years that all indigenous people can say that a member from their immediate or extended family went to residential schools. This means that in some way or another, abuse, rape, and trauma are continuously being passed down. Apart from issues within their families, indigenous people do not feel welcome outside of their society. They don’t receive the respect they deserve and even if they were to seek help don’t have the facilities available to them. These reasoning are brought up continuously in different articles about suicide.

3.What is the reasoning behind indigenous people not having the same equal facilities available to them as people off the reserves?

There is no specific reasoning for indigenous people not to receive the same facilities compared to non-aboriginals. However what I found is that according to the health plan provided to them there is loopholes that don’t actually give indigenous people the health care they deserve. When it comes to mental health, facilities aren’t important to the government to provide near them. The government does not see this as an important factor in their budget therefore they are more focused on non-aboriginals, to me this is a form of discrimination and really needs to be looked into.

4.Who has spoken out already about this injustice?

Within indigenous communities, their Chiefs are trying there best to raise the issue to the government. However, more suicides continue to occur and the government won’t listen. After the suicide of a 12 year old indigenous girl on January 10, 2017 the indigenous community in Wapekeka could no longer wait to risk the lives of more children. After years, the indigenous community still is trying to get their voice heard and they won’t stop until they achieve it.

5.What is being done right now about it?

Today suicide rate amongst indigenous people continue to rise. The indigenous community can no longer handle the loss of so many members and has begun their best to handle this issue in their own hands. Letters, meetings, calls have been set to put in order a proper program into mental-health. However, the indigenous people are being denied their request. This is absurd and in justice because there’s only so much the communities can do until they reach a breaking point.

6.Is this legacy of assimilation contributing to the high number of suicide attempts we’re seeing today?

In the past, non-aboriginals did their best to assimilate aboriginals to their own ideas of “normal”. They put agents in reserves, told parents their children were going to be in school an instead took them to residential schools. The truth of what happen in these schools is disgraceful, and has a huge impact on the high number of suicide attempts today. Family violence is being perpetuated through generations and won’t stop until proper facilities are provided for a long-term solution.

7.What is the catholic church doing about suicide in indigenous communities?

This was the hardest question for me to encounter because it was almost impossible for me to find anything that the catholic church was choosing to do about this injustice. I did however find that on the Catholic Bishop page it read that that Catholic community was always welcoming to aboriginals in their hardship times.. That sounds ridiculous, especially because it is not true.

8.Why does ATTAWAPISKAT face these high suicide challenges?

When looking into suicide I found that there are specific reserves that have much higher suicide rates than others. Attawapiskat is located in James bay, Northern Ontario. It is home to over 2,000 people and is going through an ongoing battle between suicide. Attawapiskat faces these challenges because of its lack of proper structure and mental health facilities. Since it is located in a more isolated area it has little to none hospitals or institutions. Apart from lacking resources indigenous people in Attawapiskat have very poor living conditions to the point where a family of 5 could live with their extended family because they simply don’t have the availability to proper housing. The youth only recently got a new school that was built from an old one that was horrible and run down. These issues are what lead certain people in the community to feel like the only way out of this controversy is through suicide.

9.Are there reserves that don’t face these challenges?

This research proves to me that there could be cases where the government says they provided aid in reserves but in reality it could only imply for certain ones not all.

10.Why do some reserves get more funding towards health care than others?

When answering this question I could not directly find information that justified this reasoning. However I found more clues about the way reserves really do have a complex health care system. It is clear that there is unequal access to health care services and it makes sense why the guest speaker who came in said he had access to the same health care as non-aboriginals. All thought I couldn’t find a direct answer to this reasoning it made me realize that their really is many things the government will never be able to explain.

11.Do first nations people have any access at all to the proper treatment facilities for people with mental health issues?

In certain areas there is facilities in place to deal with mental health issues however most of the time there is not. In most reserves for them to be treated they must send a state emergency. This means that they must be taken of the reserve to the closest facilities that are mostly located in the south, living their communities. At times there are cases where they are off the reserve for over a month because it would be fatal for them to go back home. This injustice is ongoing and never seems to have something good coming out of it even though it has been happening for years. Something must be done to give these communities the resource facilities that they deserve.

12.If so, How far and how long does it take to get to them from the reserve?

There are mental health facilities available for indigenous people however they are off the reserve. At times it can take up to 45 min to get them to the service that they need. Even when there is mental health facilities the non-aboriginal health workers lack a connection to specialized services for aboriginals with severe mental illness. These facilities lack the proper workers that don’t make these aboriginals feel discriminates or uncomfortable. Since this barrier exists and the locations are so far it seems as though there really is no hope for them.

13.Does the government try to help or is this all part of a purpose, for wanting the indigenous people to keep passing until there is no more left?

The government has promoted that it is doing everything in its “power” to help these aboriginal communities. However, if suicide still is increasing at an alarming rate then this can not be possible. The statistics and references show that the government has been putting aside money into the aboriginal budget but lacks to provide reasons as to why they aren’t providing enough facilities for those currently dealing with mental health issues. Personally, from reading through all this research I truly believe that the government could care less about what happens to these people. Budget cuts come and go, lifestyle of living is poor, schools are run down, they feel discriminated, they don’t have access to proper healthcare and all these things are affecting the way the aboriginals think. Imagine living in these conditions, there is no way you could say this wouldn’t affect your mind and the way you perceive life. I believe that the government is trying in a discrete matter to dismantle the indigenous communities but I think they are noticing that no matter what they throw at them the community of aboriginals still stays strong. I hope that the government realizes that they owe it to the aboriginals to provide them with AT LEAST mental health institutions.

14.What do the indigenous communities think about this injustice?

The indigenous community is doing everything in there power to stop this injustice. They want help, they want the right to the things they deserve. All the proof is evident that these reserves clearly lack BASIC needs. To stop this dangerous cycle of neglect and abuse they need to be heard. The Chief Fiddler met with prime minister Trudeau and tried to tell him that they have already spoken to a person of higher authority about the need for mental health care and addiction treatment to prevent suicide and explained how new investments aren’t going to help but rather a total new health transformation needs to occur.

15.Why are the suicide rates so high for the teenage group of indigenous people

Researching for this question really made me upset and angry. I have a cousin who in high school went through an immense amount of depression and when she got to that point where she just felt like the world was falling down on her shoulders we were lucky enough to catch her at that moment. Now when I have been researching on this topic it scares me to know how silent these kids are about the immense dark feelings they have inside of themselves. My cousin was 17 when she dealt with this… these children are committing suicide at 12. The reason for this is because the youth are kept in an environment where they feel like they don’t belong, and as if they are a waste of space in their community. A point in the research that was very relevant is the fact that if a group of friends are consistently obsessed with death and dying, the to belong in that group they have to be immersed in that culture of suicide. Living on a reserve doesn’t leave the youth which much of a choice of doing anything else there isn’t the possibility of going to movie theaters or driving fancy cars, or those things kids see on TV. There’s the living conditions of feeling like a second-class citizen when one watches TV and sees what other people have that they don’t. Without the proper guidance or facilities these children are left feeling worthless and result in suicide.

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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12 year old indigenous girl committed suicide on January 10, 2017, the indigenous community in Wapekeka could no longer wait to risk the lives of more children.

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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They might not be connected to the culture or spirituality, and their only real connection is to their peer group. If their peer group is obsessed with death and dying, then to belong to that group they have to be immersed in that culture of suicide. There isn’t the possibility of going to movie theaters or driving fancy cars, or those things kids see on TV. There’s the living conditions of feeling like a second-class citizen when one watches TV and sees what other people have that they don’t.

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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Young people may not feel like they belong anywhere or that they’re contributing to the community.

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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Most isolated reserves like Attawapiskat have very few facilities. There really is next to nothing for mental health services. Reserves may only have one nurse who has had limited training, and if there’s a hospital it would be really tiny. There’s a lot of unresolved trauma and unresolved grief and loss. A lot of people in the community are containing their pain and emotions through drugs and alcohol, through disassociating, and sometimes all it takes is one trigger when people are vulnerable. Relates to childhood trauma; there’s abuse that occurs, be it physical or sexual.

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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Reasons For This Injustice

This injustice is very complicated and difficult to find direct answers for. However there are significant amount of factors that contribute to this ongoing issue. Through the inquiry I was able to find that the government contributes a major role in the suicide aspect amongst indigenous people. The government plays a big role in this for factors such as residential schools, lack of appropriate mental health services, lack of proper funding, lack of long term solutions, mental health workers that do not know the language or beliefs of the aboriginals, also stigma and discrimination within these facilities. Residential schools were a huge part of the history of indigenous people. The need for assimilation between aboriginals and non-aboriginals was made mandatory by the government and the catholic church. Through these schools children were taken from their parents and forced to follow the catholic teachings, speak english, cut their hair, change their names, and basically completely immerse in a Canadian society. Not only were they forced to act in such ways but they were also victims of rape and abuse that led to mass trauma. When the children grew into adulthood they were finally released from the schools but to survive residential school, indigenous children learned not to show emotion, so he only safe expression was anger. For many people, anger became a default, and that anger gets taken out on others or yourself if you don’t know how to express it in a good way. This has been very damaging because it just keeps perpetuating itself in generation after generation. They contained their pain and emotions through drugs and alcohol, through disassociating, and even abusing their own children whether it be physical or sexual. These residential schools left a huge mark on the indigenous community which now has experiences that are being passed on through 4 generations. All of this unresolved trauma, grief, and loss was because of the implementation of residential schools by the government. From that mental health services such as therapy sessions for the victims, mental health specialist who could provide diagnostic treatments for depression or other mental illnesses, appropriate engagement with mental disorders and health services, and long-term funding for facilities were never implemented. Today, some reserves do have facilities available to them however they aren’t properly funded, they lack sanitation, proper specialists, and have workers who don’t understand the aboriginals because of the language barriers. The government supports themselves by stating that they have helped out by having some facilities but most of them are 45 min off the reserve and many smaller, remote communities have limited or no access to mental health services. Apart from this, 1.4 million aboriginal members live in poor conditions, they lack adequate employment opportunities, and also have higher rates on incarnation than non-aboriginal Canadians. All these factors contribute to the reasoning behind why so many indigenous communities feel lost, hurt, alone, and depressed leading to their soul wanting to be freed through suicide.

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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The Catholic Churches View Bible- God has a great plan for your life. God has created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). He created us for a purpose. God has a specific plan in mind for everyone. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Life belongs to God. It is never our place to take our own life or someone else’s life. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

The bible’s view on suicide is a little more intense and against than the Catechism and the pope. The bible explains that life was given by God but it also was give to us for a purpose. All of us have a reason to be here, and it is our duty to live the life he gave us. The bible is clear in stating that it is not our place EVER to take our own lives because our bodies are a temple, and inside it the holy spirit is within. The bible informs us that our bodies are not our rather they were given to us at a price of honoring god with our lives.

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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Givers of Life by Leah Dorion ; commissioned by The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist of Canada. The woman of many different cultures all stand under the sacred tree of life

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amongssuicideindeigenouspeo-blog · 8 years ago

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What voices are missing?

In the public research available I was surprised to see that many indigenous voices have been heard. Through meetings with the prime minister, letters, and even protest in front of parliament hill. Indigenous people have been doing everything in their power to speak up about the suicide issue and need for proper facilities that deal with mental health. However, the government was more of a difficult voice to get information on. Some of my question couldn’t be answered because truly the government knows that they are doing something wrong, but since they are inferior they have the ability to hide the truth from people who want to look into them. Another voice that I was unable to hear from was the catholic church. There wasn’t much information on what the catholic church did or is doing for these people but what I did notice was mentioned repeatedly is that many times the church defended themselve by saying that this was implemented by european culture. “It must be acknowledged that the missionary endeavour was deeply marked by the prevailing attitudes of the superiority of European culture. When this conviction was translated into social action in the 19th Century, it manifested itself in a paternalistic model of charity which at times expressed itself as protection of Native rights and freedoms and at other times took the form of coercion and control.” This information is not the right way to address the aboriginal people especially after everything that happen. “the Church has walked with Aboriginal Peoples, shared their joys, their sufferings, and their aspirations, and supported their struggles for recognition of their rights for personal and collective growth. Then and now, the Churches provide a place where Native and non-Native Peoples may find common ground. Non-Native Church members have accompanied Native Peoples on their journey – sometimes leading, sometimes following, sometimes side-by-side” (CCCB Brief to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Let Justice Flow like a Mighty River, 1995). When I found this I was so shocked, to think that after everything the voice that the catholic church is presenting to the world is false infuriates me. Clearly, a real voice of the catholic church is not being heard and I really hope that as time goes on a representative of the church actually does something NOW about this issue. Their was nothing I could find on what the catholic church is doing today about the suicide and mass trauma associated by their residential schools.

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