HEADLINES: Marie: This week on Minnesota Native News, we explore the state of suicide in the native community and get a look at a new urban program launched to address the issue, called Keep the Fire Alive. Here’s Cole Premo with that story.
[Sounds of news reports… Anthony Bourdain/Kate Spade]
The recent news of fashion designer Kate Spade and culinary superstar Anthony Bourdain’s deaths, both due to suicide, have sparked a nationwide conversation on the subject.
The deaths of two high-profile celebrities, in a sad and tragic way, showed that depression and suicide is an issue that affects people of all walks of life.
And it’s an issue that hits close to home, too. In the native community in Minnesota, the suicide rate for young native americans is the highest of all ethnic backgrounds.
That’s precisely why a new program, Keep The Fire Alive, was launched in Minneapolis.
But more on that in a little bit.
First, let’s explore why this issue is so devastating and take a look at the numbers.
STATS:
“[02:33] it’s a major issue. We have the highest rates in the state for Youth Ages Ten to 24. Um, and the, so the rate that we get as surveillance rate”
That’s Jackie Dionne, the Director of American Indian Health for the Minnesota Department of Health. She’s also a Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribal member.
According to data from the CDC, from 2015 to 2016, natives between 10 and 34 had a suicide rate of 29 per 100,000. That’s more than double the rate of caucasians, which was 13.6 per 100,000.
Dionne says the actual numbers could be even worse. Some deaths, like car accidents and overdoses, often could have been suicide-related, but aren’t factored into the statistics. Death certificates aren’t always filled out properly.
DIONNE: “What often happens is whoever is filling out that death certificate sometimes doesn’t always report race accurately. So we’re often under reported and for us to have the highest rates means that they’re probably, we’re probably missing a lot and it could be even worse.”
But why is it so bad?
Dionne says a lot of it has to do with historical trauma… and lack of funding.
DIONNE: “With that lack of investment, you have a high traumas and you have high traumas based on what was done to us by removing us from our families and putting less important schools.”
“that whole process leads us to the substance use that then leads us to these other conditions that then puts hopelessness in populations. “
Suicide has a way of acting like a contagion, spreading within tight social networks, according to CDC findings. Native communities across the nation have a hard time getting ahead of the incidents.
DIONNE: “You have another one on top of that and then another one on top of that. The community doesn’t have time to sit and think. “
And that’s why the new program, Keep The Fire Alive was created by the Indigenous Peoples Task Force.
KEEP THE FIRE ALIVE:
The Task Force, formed in 1988 by now executive director Sharon Day, started in Minneapolis as a means to address HIV and sexual health education, housing, and a lot more.
DEPIES: “We’ve branched out in some other youth health education, like a traditional tobacco education and tobacco policy change has been at IPTS, I’d say like 20 years now and we have programming in a youth theater has been a main way that our youth programming has been able to reach other youth and educate native youth in different communities. And uh, we’ve done from work. Uh, there’s a gardening program that started about five years ago and so, uh, again working with you on traditional foods and gardening and healthy eating and um, we, Sharon has been really active in. I’m talking about protecting the water and leading water walks and I’m kind of environmental changes that protect the water. And um, let me think. We have HIV case management here and we just recently started a needle exchange program.
COLE: “That’s a lot of stuff!”
Brenna Depies is the program coordinator of the new program. And while she’s not native, she has worked with native youth for nearly 10 years and has a master’s in public health and community health education.
She says Keep The Fire Alive was formed out of a combination of opportunity and need. The Native Connections Program, funded the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, had an available grant.
DEPIES: “So I just felt like we were a good fit to apply and host the program just because there aren’t any other suicide prevention programs in Minneapolis.”
Keep the Fire Alive’s mission is to help community members identify warning signs of suicide and come together as a community to tackle this issue.
So, what are the warning signs?
DEPIES: “Often people will say that they’re thinking about killing themselves or something, like I want to go to sleep and never wake up or my family would be better off without me. So sometimes there’s a really clear statement. Sometimes it’s kind of a coated statement.”
Warning signs can be different for each person, however.
DEPIES: “I think it’s important for people to just start to trust their gut.”
The program also plans on developing a youth council to help implement a better referral program for people feeling suicidal.
DEPIES: “We want to work with many different levels in the community.”
And just like there is hope for those with depression, there is hope that these prevention programs are helping and improving communities across the nation.
Dionne also says although science has yet to fully dive into its importance, native culture is, at least anecdotally, important for native youth to be connected to.
DIONNE: “If one of our youth is connected to culture and language, it’s not 100 percent, but for the most part they will be pretty OK. When those kids are lost and they’re not connected and they don’t know where they fit, those are the ones that are going to struggle.”
Lastly, Dionne clarifies that suicide does not mean there’s something wrong with the native community — and that’s how programs should approach it.
DIONNE: “It’s not what’s wrong with you as the message. It’s what happened to you and the traumas that a lot of populations face specifically, not of our own doing. There’s nothing innate about what’s wrong with us that caused this or has the rate increase. It was what was done to us.“
As for Brenna Depies, she says Keep the Fire Alive is always looking for those who want to contribute.
DEPIES: “We’re building a new program, so everyone’s welcome to come to our office and share their ideas or get involved in a variety of ways.”
If you or anyone you know may have suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. Again, that’s 1-800-273-8255.
I’m Cole Premo.
OUTRO