The rate of First Nations suicide shows no signs of falling
By KEVIN SPURGAITIS
Kathleen Beardy is just one of many First Nation youths to have died unseasonably. Just 11 years old, Kathleen hung herself in October 2005 after having her pet puppy stolen and after seeing the arrest of her parents by Winnipeg police. For several days prior to her death, the young girl was left in the care of her 17-year-old pregnant sister. But the older sibling was simply unable to make better the family’s fortunes.
Suicide is a symptom of things that have gone wrong. The Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the national organization representing aboriginal citizens, says it is rapidly losing another generation to self-murder. The AFN has aggressively lobbied the federal government for years for immediate emergency funding and programs to combat the problem.
“Children have become desensitized (to death) because so many have been directly affected by the suicides of family members or relatives. Now children are also taking their own lives,” an AFN spokesperson told CNT.
“It should be shocking for all of us to know that, within a privileged nation like Canada, there are people who have been forced to live in Third World conditions. It’s even more disturbing to realize that the situation is known and is not only allowed to continue, but to get worse … No children in Canada should be forced to face such a bleak future.”
There are more than 750,000 First Nations people, Metis and Inuit — more than half are under 25. According to the government’s own statistics provided by the AFN, roughly 28 aboriginal males and females in 100,000 take their lives annually. Suicide and self-injury is endemic and is one of the leading causes of death among First Nations people, especially males between the ages of 15 and 24.
During the past 25 years, suicide rates of young males have remained fairly stable, though still five times the national rate present among non-aboriginal groups. In 2000, suicide accounted for 22 per cent of all aboriginal youth deaths, while making up more than 80 per cent of deaths in the same group living on the northern coast of Labrador.
The most common method of suicide is by hanging, though youth and young adults increasingly use firearms and illicit drugs, according to the AFN. Health Canada studies also reveal that 90 per cent of all victims had alcohol in their blood.
Home is no safe haven
Home is no safe haven for many First Nations youth either. Reportedly, there are corners of provinces where those who sniff gas huddle in the bitter outdoors for hours, and where children loosely rope their necks in a homespun game called, “Suicide.”
In communities surrounding Kenora, Ont., a rash of suicides once prompted chiefs to declare a state of emergency. In others, like the Ojibwa reserve near Pikangikum, Ont., a cluster of deaths distinguished the community as having the highest suicide rate in the world. There is an attempt or two every night here, especially during the summer and fall seasons. The now stapled nightly patrols are trying to perclude further losses of life, though, according to various press reports. In February 1995, a special report on suicide by the Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) linked mental illness and youth suicide to one thing: cultural alienation. This is brought on by a “loss of identity; loss of control over living conditions; restricted economic opportunity; suppression of beliefs and spirituality; weakening of social institutions; displacement of political institutions; pervasive breakdown of cultural values and diminished esteem; as well as discrimination and institutional racism.”
The Royal Commission said mental disorders among aboriginal people is primarily a by-product of a colonial past. Native peoples in Canada are still trying to overcome official assimilation strategies by the federal government and Christian churches. Residential schools, where several generations of aboriginal children were taken away from their families, communities and traditional lands, did the greatest damage, it argued. Inside these religious institutions, they were forcibly stripped of their language, religion, traditions and culture, in addition to being physically and sexually abused.
Disruption of family and unresolved grief has translated into depression, the abuse of alcohol and drugs, and suicidal tendencies. There is even difficulty in effectively parenting future generations, the Royal Commission acknowledged.
Poor living, poor health
In June 2004, UN special investigator Rodolfo Stavenhagen looked at the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people in Canada. Based on information gathered from federal, provincial and territorial authorities, as well as representatives of aboriginal peoples’ organizations, Stavenhagen stated the condition of aboriginal people was “the most pressing human rights issue facing Canada.”
“Economic, social and human indicators of well-being, quality of life and development are completely lower among aboriginal people than other Canadians,” he told the Canadian Press.
The health status of aboriginal peoples, measured by life expectancy and many other indicators, is much worse than that of Canadians as a whole, the Canadian Institute for Health Information determined in February 2004. “For health gains to be achieved, aboriginal communities need the resources and capacity to be able to move beyond responding to crises and begin to address the determinants of health.”
The AFN reports that First Nations are 10 times more likely to wait for family physicians, due to greater stresses on the system; low recruitment and retention of health-care professionals in First Nations communities; hospital closures coupled with cutbacks in federal medical transportation funding; and the remoteness of some of their communities (30 per cent are located more than 90 km from physician services).
Each year, thousands of children, adults and elders are ultimately denied basic health services provided to most Canadians, according to the organization. Without an ombudsman or anyone to make an official appeal, First Nations often “suffer in silence.”
Health services for aboriginals have been chronically under-funded for the past decade, says an AFN spokesperson. With an annual budget of $1.8 billion, the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) of Health Canada must serve an estimated 700,000 First Nations clients and 40,000 Inuit clients. The AFN’s new Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) Handbook lists the services that are direly needed: prescription drugs, medical transportation, dental care, vision care, medical supplies and equipment, medical transportation and crisis intervention counselling.
The 2005 First Nations Framework in the Blueprint on Aboriginal Health also recommended strategies to remedy the lack of quality care on and off reserve. Over the next five years, AFN forecasts the need for an 11 per cent annual growth in the Federal Budget to accommodate their needs, without which a shortfall of roughly $2.85 billion is anticipated. First Nations were promised roughly 89 per cent of the government’s September 2004 commitment of $700 million, and more than $5 billion at the First Ministers Meeting in November.
Kelowna Accord
During its last days in office, the federal Liberal government signed the Kelowna Accord with aboriginal leaders, pledging to help native communities rebuild themselves. In addition to monies for education, housing and infrastructure, $1.3 billion was promised to double the number of health workers by 2016; curb infant mortality and childhood obesity rates; and escalate suicide prevention. Another $125 million was specifically earmarked for healing the emotional wounds of residential school survivors, in a tentative compensation package hammered out with native groups.
Kelowna is ‘all but dead’ though, say political pundits. The newly formed Conservative government abandoned Liberal commitments in the 2006 Federal Budget, on the grounds that targets were “unachievable.” Instead, PM Stephen Harper promises “opportunity and respect for aboriginals” through an ambitious, long-term plan to revamp legislation and settle land claims.
The Conservatives want to focus on the 70 per cent of aboriginals living in cities. This year’s budget gives the minister about $1 billion over two years to spend on communities. The next one is expected to provide more.
The Kelowna Accord was the first concrete commitment made by the federal government, but it could potentially remain in “limbo,” an AFN spokesperson warns.
“Since the Kelowna First Ministers Meeting in November 2005 and the subsequent federal election, there has been much media attention focused on First Nations living conditions. As a result, public awareness has risen as well as a desire, as expressed in recent polls, by Canadians that this situation is no longer acceptable in a country as rich as Canada.
“In terms of the federal government’s record, though … it has repeatedly acknowledged the ‘shameful conditions’ of First Nations, only to proceed to make empty promises.”
In a statement provided to CNT, AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine said the sooner the Conservative government “re-tools, re-packages and re-brands” the accord — one containing the original commitments and funding — the better.
He found that there was a “complete absence” of funding in the federal budget to address the urgent health crises faced by aboriginal communities. Cutbacks in medical transportation, essential health services and pharmaceuticals, Fontaine maintained, will mean heavy risks to patient safety and further widen the gap between First Nations and Canadians’ health and wellbeing.
“Unless the (Wait Times Reduction) guarantee takes into account primary care and public health, as well as access to the basic determinants of health such as housing and education, it will have no relevance to truly measuring the performance of federal, provincial, and territorial governments in meeting their responsibilities to First Nations,” he said.
“Perhaps of greatest concern is the lack of consideration for First Nations children, from investments in child care to children with disabilities … Our population is younger and our communities more challenged to support adequate facilities for our children. And yet, the needs of our children appear to have been ignored.”
Out of the Shadow
Fontaine, however, welcomed the release of the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology’s mental health report, Out of the Shadows, which specifically highlights the need for immediate investment in life-saving strategies for First Nations peoples, especially youth. He called the report, which was released in May, a “significant step” towards addressing the First Nations’ suicide epidemic.
In addition to calling for a national mental health commission – one that would put an end to the long-standing fragmentation of services — the committee recommended a National Aboriginal Advisory Committee and the renewal of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (Residential Schools restitution process) for another three years. As well, a mental health system using the telephone could improve care in rural and remote areas, where psychiatric services are absent or “woefully deficient.” Often, northern aboriginal communities share a single health-care professional, who must travel between them or to whom clients must travel for treatment. Travel costs can be very high.
The report concluded, “First Nations are seeking ways to harness public interest, government assistance, the biomedical model of health professionals and scientific and technological interventions, blending these with their own internal strategies, approaches to healing and resources for preventing suicide.
“Programs and interventions need to be sustainable and responsive to community needs and best thinking, with appropriate follow-through. Suicide is understood as a problem that does not just affect youth, but the whole community. The strength and resilience of youth, families and communities need to be recognized and mobilized. Solutions must involve all members, including children, youth, women and elders.”
The report’s recommendations mirror the AFN’s 10-Year Challenge presented at the First Ministers’ Meeting in Kelowna. The comprehensive plan to improve living conditions on and off-reserve is to be implemented, as the aboriginal population increases to a projected 900,000 by 2020. (Native populations are growing twice as fast as the general population, according to Statistics Canada).
Fontaine said, “The report acknowledges that suicide or addictions associated with despair can be reversed, particularly through improving health determinants. Actions in education, housing, employment and community support can produce significant long-term benefits to aboriginal peoples.
Fontaine added, “We now have the solutions. We cannot afford to lose another generation.”
Originally published in the Catholic New Times, July 2006
