Understanding suicide from an Indigenous cultural lens: Insights from Elders in Canada

In this study, Indigenous Elders in Canada were interviewed to explore their conceptualizations of death and dying, particularly in relation to suicide. Through reflexive thematic analysis, three key themes were developed: Indigenous conceptions of death and dying, Christian influences on views of suicide, and indirect suicide. The theme of Indigenous conceptualizations of death and dying […]

Centering community strengths and resisting structural racism to prevent youth suicide: Learning from American Indian and Alaska Native communities

The persistence of extreme suicide disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth signals a severe health inequity with distinct associations to a colonial experience of historical and on-going cultural, social, economic, and political oppression. To address this complex issue, we describe three AI/AN suicide prevention efforts that illustrate how strengths-based community interventions across […]

Understanding opioid use within a Southwestern American Indian Reservation Community: A qualitative study

Purpose Morbidity and mortality due to nonprescription use of opioids has been well documented following the significant increase in the availability of prescription opioids in the early 2000s. The aim of this paper is to explore community beliefs about correlates of opioid risk, protective factors, and behavioral functions of opioid misuse among American Indian youth […]

Wakȟáŋyeža (Little Holy One) – an intergenerational intervention for Native American parents and children: A protocol for a randomized controlled trial with embedded single-case experimental design

Background Trauma within Native American communities compromises parents’ parenting capacity; thus, increasing childrens’ risk for substance use and suicide over the lifespan. The objective of this manuscript is to describe the Wakȟáŋyeža (Little Holy One) intervention and evaluation protocol, that is designed to break cycles of intergenerational trauma, suicide, and substance use among Fort Peck […]

Centering Indigenous knowledges and worldviews: Applying the Indigenist ecological systems model to youth mental health and wellness research and programs

Globally, Indigenous communities, leaders, mental health providers, and scholars have called for strengths-based approaches to mental health that align with Indigenous and holistic concepts of health and wellness. We applied the Indigenist Ecological Systems Model to strengths-based case examples of Indigenous youth mental health and wellness work occurring in CANZUS (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and […]

Identification in a time of invisibility for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States

This paper contains an examination of how we identify and describe American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) people, present what we know and discuss how we can develop measures to better improve policies and programs that affect the AIAN people and improve their lives. Specifically, this paper consists what we know about health and socio-demographic […]

Socio-psychological factors of rising trend of suicidal ideation among Indigenous workforce: Evidence from Himalayan Range

Apart from socio-economic disparities, indigenous people of the Himalayan range in Asia face an increasing trend of suicides. The tragic suicidal events usually go unaddressed, and no strategies are presently in place to mitigate suicides in the future. This study aims to explain the prevailing causes of suicidal ideation to come up with some policy […]

Community mental health services for American Indians and Alaska Natives: Reconciling evidence-based practice and alter-native psy-ence

This review updates and extends Gone & Trimble’s (2012) prior review of American Indian (AI) and Alaska Native (AN) mental health. First, it defines AI/AN populations in the USA, with an explanation of the importance  of political citizenship in semisovereign Tribal Nations as primary for categorizing this population. Second, it presents an updated summary of […]

Reducing Indigenous suicide: Recognizing vital land and food systems for livelihoods

Colonial trauma poses a significant risk to the physical, intellectual, and mental health of Indigenous youth and young adults. Education and mental health scholars are increasingly concerned about the emotional wellbeing of young people, particularly as rates of suicide have increased across the United States. With interest in identifying the unique contextual dynamics involved in […]

The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and suicide-related behaviours in Indigenous clients seeking substance use treatment

Indigenous populations in Canada are at higher risk of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; e.g., abuse, neglect, or other household challenges before the age of 18) when compared to non-Indigenous populations. As the number of ACEs increase, so do rates of substance use and suicide risk. In non-Indigenous populations, the presence of prior suicide-related behaviours (SRBs) […]

Suicide among Indigenous peoples in Brazil from 2000 to 2020: A descriptive study

Background Previous studies in Australia, Canada, and Brazil, found that suicide among ethnic minority groups is higher than in the general population. Indigenous peoples in Brazil have been reported to have a high suicide rate, with reports of suicide clusters occurring in several communities. The objective of this study was to report trends in countrywide […]

Challenges and concerns in assisting indigenous people with suicide attempts

There has been an alarming rise in suicide attempts among indigenous people in Brazil leading to national concerns about the provision of psychosocial care and professional support. In this study, we make an attempt to understand the  perspectives of professionals in assisting indigenous people from a specific group, the Iny, and identify the specific challenges […]

Global goals and suicide prevention in the Circumpolar North

The purpose of this selective narrative review is to provide an overview of suicide and suicide prevention in the Circumpolar North and the relevance of global strategies and policies to these themes. We conducted a selective review of the English language literature on Arctic Indigenous mental health, suicide, and suicide prevention. We briefly present the […]

Poor self-reported sleep quality associated with suicide risk in a community sample of American Indian adults

Study Objectives Although American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) have high suicide rates few studies have systematically investigated sleep quality and its association with suicidal behaviors in AI/AN. This study is a cross-sectional investigation of self-reported sleep quality and suicidal behaviors in an adult AI population. Methods A semi-structured interview was used to collect data on suicidal […]

Aboriginal and non-aboriginal emergency department presentations involving suicide-related thoughts and behaviors: Characteristics and discharge arrangements

Background: Rates of hospital admission for suicide-related thoughts and behaviors (SRTBs) are elevated in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, especially by Aboriginal people, but very little is known about emergency department (ED) presentations. Aim: We aimed to profile ED presentations in the NT involving SRTBs by Indigenous status and compare discharge arrangements. Method: Logistic regression analyses were performed on […]

Non-fatal deliberate self-harm in three remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland, Australia

Background: Indigenous Australians experience a suicide rate over twice that of the general population. With nonfatal deliberate self-harm (DSH) being the single most important risk factor for suicide, characterizing the incidence and repetition of DSH in this population is essential. Aims: To investigate the incidence and repetition of DSH in three remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland, […]

Strength-based approaches to suicide prevention with Native American youth

Learning Objectives At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Describe racial/ethnic differences in AIAN Youth suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide deaths in order to assess co-occurring and risk and protective factors. • Define strength-based approaches to suicide assessment/prevention. • Understand how strength-based practices can be applied within individual, family, […]

Evaluation of the risk identification for suicide and enhanced care model in a Native American community

Objective  To prospectively validate a statistical risk model implemented in a community setting and evaluate whether use of this model was associated with improved reach of evidence-based care and reduced subsequent suicide-related behavior among high-risk individuals. Design, Setting, and Participants  This prognostic study, done in partnership with the White Mountain Apache Tribe, used data collected by the […]

Decolonizing education: Nourishing the learning spirit

Drawing on treaties, international law, the work of other Indigenous scholars, and especially personal experiences, Marie Battiste documents the nature of Eurocentric models of education, and their devastating impacts on Indigenous knowledge. Chronicling the negative consequences of forced assimilation, racism inherent to colonial systems of education, and the failure of current educational policies for Aboriginal […]

Indigenous suicide rates in the United States, Australia and New Zealand between 2006 and 2019

Objective: Indigenous suicide prevention is an important focus for national health policies. Indigenous suicide rates in formerly colonial English-speaking countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand are considerably higher than the general population, particularly in young males. Given the similarities in their sociocultural history, a time series analysis was conducted to assess recent […]

Suicide Prevention in Indigenous Communities: Proceedings of a Workshop (2022)

Indigenous communities experience higher risks for suicide compared to the general U.S. population, with suicide as the second-leading cause of death among Indigenous children and young adults in North America. To reduce this trend, it is essential for prevention and intervention efforts to build on scientific evidence; cultural and local knowledge; and the best community, […]

Weaving healthy families program: Promoting resilience while reducing violence and substance use

Purpose: We examine pilot results for the culturally adapted Weaving Healthy Families (WHF) program to promote resilience and wellness while preventing substance abuse and violence among Native American (NA) families. Methods: Results were drawn from paired sample t tests and analyses of variance (ANOVA) with a convenience sample of 24 adults and adolescents from eight NA families […]

Demographic and clinical presentations of youth using enhanced mental health services in six Indigenous communities form the ACCESS Open Minds Network

Objective In many Indigenous communities, youth mental health services are inadequate. Six Indigenous communities participating in the ACCESS Open Minds (AOM) network implemented strategies to transform their youth mental health services. This report documents the demographic and clinical presentations of youth accessing AOM services at these Indigenous sites. Methods Four First Nations and two Inuit […]