Denise Davy
The Hamilton Spectator
OHSWEKEN (Jul 19, 2010)
Youth have come together with officials at Six Nations to find a solution to the spike in suicides among youth and young adults on the reserve.
Seven young people have ended their lives over the past year. All were between the ages of 16 and 20.
Chief Bill Montour, born and raised on the Six Nations reserve, who also lost two friends to suicide in school, says he's never seen the number that high.
One teen who took his life, a 17-year-old who died in March, had been posting his depressive feelings on Facebook.
Montour said the suicides reflect a larger problem of hopelessness among youth on the reserve.
He called on youth to come together to talk about the root causes of suicide.
"I'm really concerned about it," said Montour.
"To me, this is the future of our community and they don't want to be here and I'm wondering why and how we can make this a safer, more caring community."
Montour organized a youth forum July 8 that brought more than 50 youth together as well as representatives from social service groups. Suicide occurs at an alarming rate among First Nations youth, although it has mainly been reported in northern and remote areas.
The rate of suicide among Aboriginal Peoples in Canada for all age groups is three times higher than the rate among non-aboriginal people.
Among aboriginal youth, the rate is five to six times higher than among non-aboriginal youth.
The overall suicide rate in Canada is 11.3 per 100,000 population.
Youth at the meeting talked about the need for suicide prevention programs, drug and alcohol programs and workshops to build confidence.
Montour said residential schools are also a factor in that so many parents lack parenting skills.
"I look at it as a worm that's gone down through the generations," said Montour.
However, Geeg Hill says the root problem of the suicides is much simpler.
Hill, 17, dated the teen who ended his life in March and also lost friends to suicide, one in January and another in April.
Hill has since started a support group called Not One More. She said her boyfriend was sad about losing his two sisters, both of whom committed suicide in 2006.
But she says the main issue pushing up the suicide rate is lack of parental support.
"Parents don't spend enough time with their kids," said Hill.
"They're more worried about going out and drinking with their friends."
Lisa Loft-Hill, child and youth worker at the Youth Drop-In program that's run through Health Promotions, said there's a sense of hopelessness among many youth on the reserve.
"It was a shock to the community," said Loft-Hill, who is helping co-ordinate events for youth in the community.
"I'm just hoping it won't happen again."
Montour called the number of suicides "surprising."
"I've known there's something wrong with the community that we're not addressing," said Montour.
"We need to bring this out in the open and start dealing with it.
"These people are the future of our community but they don't want to be here."
Montour said the problem will get worse if nothing is done because population on the reserve is expected to grow by another 10,000 by 2030. A large proportion of that growth is expected to be in the teenage age range.
With about 12,000 people, Six Nations currently is the largest reserve in Canada.
"You get this hopelessness in youth and they're saying, what the hell's the use, and they just want to take themselves out," said Montour. The forum run by youth will be held on the reserve in August.