Cultural Continuity as a Hedge Against Suicide in Canada’s First Nations

This paper examines self-continuity & its role as a protective factor against suicide. First, the notions of personal & cultural continuity & their relevance to understanding suicide among First Nations youth are reviewed. Data is presented to demonstrate the wide variance in suicide rates among British Columbia’s nearly 200 aboriginal groups. Finally, it is demonstrated these variable incidence rates are strongly associated with the degree to which British Columbia’s 196 bands are engaged in community practices that are employed as markers of a collective effort to rehabilitate & vouchsafe the cultural continuity of these groups. Communities which have taken active steps to preserve & rehabilitate their own cultures are those in which youth suicide rates are dramatically lower. (33 refs.)