WASHINGTON – The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs heard testimony Feb. 26 that indicates youth suicide in Indian country continues to be an urgent and pressing crisis, despite new prevention initiatives. Health experts said that more resources and better strategies for reaching troubled Indian youth are required.
American Indians have a suicide rate that is 70 percent higher than that of the general U.S. population, while Native youths have the highest rate of suicide of any group in the nation.
The hearing examined the crisis and sought to assess how the Indian youth suicide prevention programs are working. Health experts said programs are helping, but more resources and some new strategies are required.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who lost his father to suicide when he was a boy, was among those who testified. He said it is important to break the silence about suicide, which is too often viewed as a taboo subject.
Dana Jetty, a 16-year-old high school student and member of the Spirit Lake Tribe, also provided emotional testimony. She told the committee about losing her 14-year-old sister, Jami, to suicide in November. Jetty noted that her mother was concerned about her sister’s well-being, and “did everything right,” adding that her mother took her sister to doctors, counselors and had her evaluated.
Health experts said that more health care professionals need to be available in Indian communities to help youth cope with problems and receive mental health treatment in their communities.
“We need to go back and read the treaties that signed the federal government up for its obligations,” said Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. “Right now, health care rationing takes place on every Indian reservation in America. That is shameful.”
