Canadian aboriginal community in crisis amid rash of suicides
A Canadian aboriginal community has declared a state of emergency over an alarming spike in suicide attempts among its 2,000 members.
The declaration was signed Saturday by Chief Bruce Shisheesh of the remote northern community of the Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario after 11 of its members attempted to take their own lives this month.
The document, which was provided to the Reuters news agency Sunday night by Charlie Angus, a member of parliament for the area, also said that the community saw 28 suicide attempts in March alone.
“This is a systemic crisis affecting the communities,” Charlie Angus said.
“There’s just not been a serious response from any level of government until now,” he added.
Following the Saturday declaration, the regional First Nations government was sending a crisis response unit to the community, according to the Canadian Press.
The Health Canada federal agency said in a statement that two mental health counselors had been dispatched to the community as part of the crisis response unit.
On Twitter, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the news from Attawapiskat “heartbreaking,” saying, “We'll continue to work to improve living conditions for all indigenous peoples.”
Last month, the Cross Lake Community in the western province of Manitoba appealed for federal aid, citing six suicides in two months and 140 suicide attempts in two weeks.
The community, also known as the Pimicikamak Cree Nation, is located some 500 kilometers north of Winnipeg, Manitoba Province, and is the third largest aboriginal community in the area with 8,300 members.
Canada’s 1.4 million aboriginals make up about 4 percent of the country’s population of more than 35 million, but they struggle with poverty and desperation as well as high rates of crime and suicide. They also have a lower life expectancy than other Canadians.
Prime Minister Trudeau, who came to power in November 2015, has promised to mend relations with Canada’s indigenous people.
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