Dozens of Suicide Attempts in First Nation Community Lead to State of Emergency

A crisis in the Attawapiskat First Nation continued its pace Saturday when 11 people attempted to kill themselves in a 24-hour period, according to community leaders.

The remote area in Ottawa is among many aboriginal communities in Canada dealing with abnormally high risks of suicide.

That single day was not unusual. Community leaders say there have been 101 suicide attempts in the small community since September 2015, leading Attawapiskat Chief Bruce Shisheesh to declare a state of emergency.

The Attawapiskat are not the only people suffering. The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, of which the Attawapiskat is one part, declared a state of emergency in January because of the growing epidemic highlighted at the end of last year by the reported suicide deaths of a 10-year-old girl, a 14-year-old girl and a 20-year-old woman.

"We have been working around-the-clock over the past few days to do everything we can to make sure that the people of Attawapiskat have the supports they need and we will redouble our efforts to help Chief and Council deal with the terrible situation," Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said in a statement Monday. "The numbers of suicide attempts experienced by this community are shocking and nothing short of a national tragedy."

Canadian Minister of Health Jane Philpott and Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett, who could not confirm the reported number of suicide attempts, said two mental health counselors have been dispatched, in addition to a crisis response unit from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which has a population of about 45,000. The Health Ministry of Canada or Health Canada is also working with the community and the local health authority to respond to the crisis.

It's unclear how many people have died by suicide compared to those who have attempted to kill themselves

For the First Nation People, however, the risk of suicide has long been an ongoing problem. There have been at least two other states of emergency declared by NAN: in 1992 and 2013. A 1996 Canadian government report on suicide in aboriginal communities found four key contributors for the increased risk: mental illness, anxiety, schizophrenia and unresolved grief.

While it has been 20 years since that report, the issues appear to be unresolved, according to a January report by the Mushkegowuk Council, which is also part of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. Titled "The People's Inquiry Into Our Suicide Pandemic," the January 2016 report reviewed a period from 2009 to 2011, when an estimated 600 Mushkegowuk people attempted suicide, according to the report.

"The Mushkegowuk were forced to take the situation into our own hands; we didn't want to see any more of our family members and children die," Mushkegowuk Council Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon said in a statement in January. "The people sourced their own funding to conduct the inquiry and started an in-depth review of ourselves, by ourselves."

Four commissioners were chosen and listened to hundreds of people's testimony before coming up with 16 factors that led to an increased risk of suicide in the community.

"Traditionally, our people share what we've learned through experience or what has been passed down to us through stories," Solomon said in the statement. "The people's stories have shown us that our communities are determined to stop this suicide pandemic. After listening and being guided by the people, we offer this plan to help protect the Omushkegowuk."

The report found 16 unresolved issues that may have contributed to the suicide attempts, including violence, bullying, education issues, housing issues, health issues, sexual abuse and substance abuse.

Mushkegowuk community leaders have made recommendations for dealing with each of these factors but acknowledge the crisis is ongoing.