A state of emergency has been called in the remote northern Ontario reserve because 39 of its young people have tried to commit suicide in the past month and a half.
Advertisement
Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency over the weekend after seeing 11 suicide attempts this month. They also heard from youth in the community who are trying to stop the suicide epidemic and those, like Hookimaw, who are grieving. Officials on the reserve say that the situation is dire, and blamed poverty and a lack of resources.
“There needs to be a sustainable plan in addressing the need for mental health workers”, said Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon of the Mushkegowuk Council, of which Attawapiskat is a member, to CBC’s The Current on April 12.
Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day is calling the Attawapiskat suicide crisis, and state of emergency, a tipping point for the First Nation health care crisis in Canada.
Dr. Laurence Kirmayer of McGill University, founder and director of the Network for Aboriginal Mental Health Research, said suicide is a behaviour, but it can also be seen as an idea.
“When I think that there are communities in our country where … young people in groups are deciding that there is no hope for their future, we must do better, we have to find a way to go forward”, Philpott said.
During Tuesday’s emergency debate, NDP MP Niki Ashton suggested that encouraging aboriginals to relocate was tackling the matter from an “assimilationist” viewpoint.
Newly appointed Sen. Murray Sinclair, who led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that examined the effects of Canada’s residential schools, said relocation is up to the people of Attawapiskat. “I am very pleased, it just made my day”.
In Ottawa, Carolyn Bennett, the federal minister of indigenous and northern affairs, said she was heartened by this week’s efforts to help the community. She only told reporters that she thought “the context probably wasn’t there” and that “everyone is entitled to their opinion”.
A nearby hydro development that regularly floods the community’s traditional lands has also wreaked havoc on their way of life; after a hard-fought battle, the town finally won an apology a year ago.
“The news from Attawapiskat is heartbreaking”, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter, as he pledged anew to continue working with First Nations to improve living conditions for all Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
The emergency mental health assistance, he said, has “given us a tiny bit of space to address the long term issues”.
Amy Bombay, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Dalhousie University, suggested that moving away from Attawapiskat is not necessarily a solution. “It might be shocking and new to some, but we see this wave coming and going from community to community to territory to territory”.
“In addition to the need for social and economic support, urgently needed in Attawapiskat and all First Nations, all Indigenous peoples need to be empowered to take back control of their own lives”, she continued.
Dozens of young people in Attawapiskat came together on Monday to discuss “what we have” and “what we need”.
A group of activists for aboriginal rights are staging a sit-in at the Toronto offices of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada in solidarity with a remote Ontario First Nation struggling with a suicide crisis.
Advertisement
Protesters say they will refuse to leave the premises until INAC officials promise more action to address the crisis.
