Acting On What We Know: Preventing Youth Suicide in First Nations

Section 2

Introduction to the Issue

Introduction

A review of the available literature shows that First Nations youth suicide is occurring at an alarming rate across Canada. Despite this, it should be possible to reduce suicide by making multi-level changes to the systems that youth, families and communities look to for support when they are in crisis. Many First Nations youth experience isolation, poverty, lack of basic amenities and family relationships which do not nourish and support them. Furthermore, colonization, marginalization and rapid cultural change have left them in the wake of foreign values and beliefs and deep conflicts about who they are. Therefore, a broad perspective is critical when looking at the problem of suicide and proposing tangible ideas for action.

Key Suicide Data

First Nations Youth Suicide Rates are High

Suicide occurs roughly five to six times more often among First Nations youth than non-Aboriginal youth in Canada. [ RCAP, Choosing Life, op cit. ] The most recent edition of The Health of Canada's Children (Canadian Institute of Child Health [ Canadian Institute of Child Health (2000), Ottawa, Ontario. ] ) compared First Nations and Canadian suicide rates from 1989-1993 for ages 0-14 and 15-24 years. The rate of First Nations youth suicide is extremely high (Figure 1). Among First Nations men between the ages of 15-24 years it was 126 per 100,000, compared to 24 per 100,000 for Canadian men of the same age group. Young women from First Nations registered a rate of 35 per 100,000 versus only 5 per 100,000 for Canadian women.

Studies at a regional level also highlight the serious problem of suicide among First Nations youth. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the consistently high suicide rates for British Columbia (B.C.) Native youth. For the age group 15-24 years over a five-year period (1987-1992), B.C. First Nations youth had 108.4 suicides per 100,000 persons, while during the same period; non-Natives had 24.0 suicides per 100,000. Thus, B.C. First Nations youth have a suicide rate 4.5 times greater than non-Native youth.

Figure 1: Suicide Death Rates by Age Group
First Nations and Canadian Populations, 1989-1993

Figure 2: Suicide Rates in B.C. 1987-1992

Figure 3: Native and Non-Native Youth Suicide Rates in B.C.
(ASMR Age Standardized Mortality Rates 1987-1992)

Suicides are Increasing in Some Communities

Figure 4 shows the dramatic and increasing levels of suicide among the Nishnawbe-Aski youth in northern Ontario. The number jumped from five suicides in 1986, the first year data were available, to 25 in 1995 - an alarming 400 percent increase over the ten-year period shown. [ Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Youth Forum on Suicide, 1996. Horizons of Hope: An Empowering Journey. Thunder Bay, Ontario. ] Comparable data for southern First Nations are not readily available; however, it would be useful to examine the effects of geographical isolation, remoteness, and other social factors on First Nations youth suicide. Study of variations in rates across communities may provide important clues for suicide prevention.

Figure 4: Trends of Completed Suicides Nishnawbe-Aski Nation

In the region of the Eastern James Bay Cree (Quebec), suicides accounted for 14% of total mortality by injury during a ten-year period (Figure 5). Only motor vehicle injuries and drownings caused more deaths than suicide. An unknown proportion of injuries may, in fact, have been suicides unrecognized as such. (The Eastern James Bay Cree suicide rate was no higher than that of the general population of Canada, although the rate did increase during the ten-year period studied.)

Figure 5: Deaths from Suicide and Other Injuries Cree of Eastern James Bay 1982-92, (n=72)