Depression and Suicide Among Aboriginals

Discrimination is a disease of judgment and judgment is a product of close-mindedness. Minorities are being discriminated and sometimes even mistreated. Aboriginal Canadians are among theses minorities that in their own country are not understood nor always properly treated.

The rate of suicide is much higher among Aboriginal people in Canada. While in the past 2 decades, the overall rate of suicide in Canada has declined; it has continued to rise in some Aboriginal communities. Suicide occurs 5 to 6 times more among Aboriginal youth (10-29 years old).

The high rate of suicide among Aboriginal Canadians is one of the reflections of distress in communities. Suicide leaves many more people suffering from depression, anxiety, despair, and may be even prompting people to consider suicide in response to the loss of their loved ones. Given that many people are related and share similar personal and collective history, the impact of suicide is especially pervasive and brutal.

In addition to the common risk factors for suicide such as depression, hopelessness, substance abuse, and family violence, Aboriginals face other risk factors that are clearly related to social forces such as acculturation stress and marginalization. Difficulties to integrate the cultural values of the larger society within the existing Aboriginal values have been repeatedly described as risk factors for Aboriginal suicide, even in the absence of depression. It is noteworthy that the difficulties adapting these conflictual values do not reflect individual differences, but rather social and political forces such as governmental policies of forced assimilation.

For instance, not only the residential school system disrupted the healthy transmission of culture among Cree people, but also affected them at individual, family, community, and intergenerational level. Religious forces are other example of forced assimilation, which continue even to this date, for instance among Cree. It is equally heartbreaking and upsetting to see that Aboriginals are forced to perform many of their traditional ceremonies secretly, as these traditions are labeled by church as “evil”.

Democracy is about freedom and equality. It is absolutely important to see more ope-minded society, in which freely these kind of traditional ceremonies and other cultural expressions can be performed.

info@drbita.com