Canada’s parliament has called an emergency session for Tuesday night to discuss the series of suicide attempts in a community marked by poverty, dislocation and remoteness.
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A remote aboriginal community of some 2,000 in northern Canada has declared a state of emergency after 11 people attempted to take their own lives over the weekend.
Chief Bruce Shisheesh told Canada’s CBC News people of all ages are attempting suicide.
Premier Kathleen Wynne said she is “very anxious and very concerned” about the situation in Attawapiskat. He said the situation in Attawapiskat is a national tragedy that happens far too often in First Nation communities throughout Canada, which impacts far too many First Nation youth. “We have people that are using drugs like speed, percs, that’s a concern”, Shisheesh said. Resident Jackie Hookimaw says the latest string of deaths was spurred by the fall suicide of her 13-year-old great-niece. Attawapiskat First Nation has seen a growing mental health crisis since September, when five teenage girls tried to overdose. As she was leaving, a man came in for treatment. Since then, there’s been an alarming number of suicide attempts. “When I look at staff we need relief for our workers”, Shisheesh said.
The debate, requested by NDP indigenous affairs critic Charlie Angus, is scheduled to take place today at 6 p.m. ET. “I feel like if they had other people who had overcome those challenges and they came back, they’d feel more hopeful”.
“It’s the parents, it’s the cops, it’s the teachers who are trying to keep these kids alive”, said Angus. Together, we remain determined to put our minds and our efforts towards improving mental wellness and preventing the tragic loss of life through suicide. “We don’t have the resources”. The youngest person to attempt suicide was 11 years old, while the oldest was 71.
According to a document provided by a local politician, 28 others attempted suicide in March. But April brought even more attempts. “They’re exhausted and the reason they declared a state of emergency is to get extra bodies in the community to relieve these workers”.
The designation has meant that a Nishnawbe Aski Nation crisis response unit is being sent to the community.
Another Canadian aboriginal community in Manitoba applied for federal aid last month after 140 suicide attempts in two weeks.
First Nations mental health expert Rod McCormick said it’s not just Attawapiskat -First Nations communities across the country lack access to “to culturally relevant mental health services”.
Officials said 18 additional people – including a crisis coordinator, two youth support workers and a psychologist – have been deployed as temporary crisis relief. It called on the provincial and federal governments to collaborate with First Nations to address the high rates of suicide among indigenous people.
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“I think what we’re hearing is that there’s just a wide range of high-risk behaviour that people are seeing in the community… which require medical intervention”, said Chief Fiddler.
