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Mental Illness Among Native and Indigenous Communities In The U.S. Part 3

This article is about suicide in Native and Indigenous populations. In 2019, suicide was the second leading cause of death for American Indians/ Alaska Natives between the ages of 10 and 34. American Indian/Alaska Natives are 60% more likely to experience the feeling that everything is an effort, all or most of the time, as compared to non-Hispanic whites. In 2019, adolescent American Indian/Alaska Native females, ages 15-19, had a death rate that was five times higher than non-Hispanic white females in the same age group. In 2018, American Indian/Alaska Native males, ages 15-24, had a death rate that was twice that of non-Hispanic white males in the same age group. The overall death rate from suicide for American Indian/Alaska Native adults is about 20% higher as compared to the non-Hispanic white population.

Now, I will relate to you a personal story about Leslie Keiser’s suicide, who was a 16-year-old American Indian youth from a small community on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation on the eastern Montana plains. Leslie’s father is a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes. Leslie was one of at least two teenagers who died by suicide in the summer of 2020.

Health Officials feared the pandemic related suicides would spike among Native Youth, and they were right. Natalie Keiser. Leslie’s mother went back to the grave of a girl who took her own life in September.

“I wish she would have reached out and let us know what was wrong,” she said.

Every year, Native American youth die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of their white counterparts in the United States. Mental health experts worry that the isolation and shutdowns caused by COVID-19 pandemic could make things worse.

“It has put a really heavy spirit on them, being isolated and depressed and at  home with nothing to do,” said Carrie Manning, A project coordinator at the Fort Peck Tribes’ Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center.

The connection between the pandemic and youth suicides on the Fort Peck reservation is not clear. “Leslie had attempted suicide once before several years ago, but she had been going to counseling and seemed to be feeling better”, her mother Natalie said.

Natalie noted that therapist had canceled Leslie’s counseling sessions just before the pandemic began.

Tribal members usually lean on one another for support during times of crisis. However, this time was different. The reservation became a COVID-19 hot spot. In remote Roosevelt County, which encompasses most of the reservation, more than 10% of the population became infected with the virus. As a result, of the outbreak, social distancing was put into practice. This led tribal officials to worry the community would definitely fail to see warning signs among at-risk youth.  

“Our people have been through hardships and they’re still here, and they’ll still be here after this one as well, said Don Wetzel, tribal liaison for the Montana Office of Public Instruction and a member of the Blackfeet Nation.”

Both physical and mental health risks for residents of reservations became elevated due to poverty, high rates of substance abuse, limited health care and crowded households.

Maria Vega, a 22-year-old member of the Fort Peck Tribes, is a nursing student who lives six hours away from her family, making it difficult to travel home.  She contracted COVID-19 in October and was forced to isolate, increasing her sense of removal from family. While isolated, Vega was able to attend therapy sessions through a telehealth system set up by her university.

Maria pointed out that the native Americans who live on rural reservations are not able to avail themselves of the telehealth system because they don’t have computers or reliable internet access.

RESOURCES:

https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=39

https://khn.org/news/health-officials-fear-pandemic-retated-suicide-spike-among-native-youth/

Signed: Renee D. Warring Uniquely And Wonderfully Made Ministries