MKO Grand Chief calls on Ottawa to take action against suicide crisis on Manitoba First Nations
Sheila North Wilson to present in Ottawa days after losing her own cousin to suicide
A group representing 30 Manitoba First Nations is calling on the federal government to take action against high rates of suicide in Indigenous communities in the province.
Sheila North Wilson, Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), will make a presentation on the subject in Ottawa Thursday morning. She said she'll ask the government to address what she says are the root causes of suicide in many Indigenous communities: lack of investment, lack of opportunities, isolation and the ongoing legacy of colonialism.
"It's a crisis and an epidemic that touches, probably every Indigenous person that you can think of in some way or another," she said by phone on Wednesday night.
North Wilson has a personal connection to the presentation.
She was already in Ottawa on Monday when she got news her cousin had taken his own life.
She said she's felt physically ill ever since she found out, but when she asked family and community leadership if she should return home, every person she spoke to told her to stay and make her presentation in honour of his memory.
"It's motivating for me to try and help other people understand what the real situations are so they can turn around and help us and have empathy and have sympathy enough to call on the things that need to change, rather than looking at our people as a negative stereotype," North Wilson said.
"My mission, I guess, is to help people understand that problems like suicide, the epidemic of suicide and other tragedies in our communities are real, and they're affecting beautiful people that deserve a meaningful life."
MKO residents 5 times more likely to complete suicide, group says
According to Health Canada, suicide rates for First Nations youth around the country are five to seven times higher than for non-Indigenous youth.
In Manitoba, MKO says a person who lives in one of the 30 First Nations the group represents is more than five times more likely to complete a suicide than any other citizen of Manitoba, and youth ages 10 to 20 are the most at risk.
North Wilson said she wants to see a "comprehensive approach" to the issue.
"It's unfortunately a big issue that has no simple answers, but ultimately we have to change the way we resource and we help our communities especially in the north and isolated communities," she said.
North Wilson said suicide can be a taboo subject, due in part to legitimate fears of copy-catting.
"But at the same time I think we have to be brave and look at the issue together and try to find solutions to talk about it, so people don't feel isolated when they are considering that option, and so they don't feel like they're alone in wanting to talk about it," she said.
"I think we do need to bring it out in the open a bit more, so we can start to address the root and real causes of why someone would want to take their own lives."
With files from Courtney Rutherford