Youth tell suicide summit they expect respect

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Adults must go beyond paying lip service if the high rate of Aboriginal youth suicide is going to decline. That was the prevailing sentiment heard at a conference held in May in Prince Rupert.

The conference, titled the Northwest Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention and Community Healing Project, was held May 4 to 6, and involved youth focus groups, an inter-nation forum, and high-level policy roundtable.

More than 120 youth took part in the project and a common desire among them was more acknowledgment for their circumstances and more action from adults, particularly from Elders.

"There is a lack of consultation between youth and adults," said Joey Wesley, a youth delegate from the nearby community of Lax Kw'Alaams. "In the past, I've sat and heard Elders make speeches to us and that's the end of the conversation."

The Inter-Nation forum, Say k'uulm Goot (Of One Heart), involved youth from the different northwest communities taking part in a number of activities, including one-on-one interviews with each other, researching what supports were available in the communities, and asking participants what they felt adults could do to help.

In the interview process, one of the questions that was asked was "Imagine a future for your community that is peaceful.What does that future look like? What things are happening that make it that way?"

After the interviews, the youth talked about what they learned that needed to be shared with adults and policy makers. They then "adopted" an adult or policy maker to sit and listen to them.

"I was impressed with the number of youth standing up and voicing their opinions and sharing their ideas," said Wesley. "We were loud and it opened up a few doors. Hopefully, Elders will be coming to us now."

Although he is just 24 years old, Wesley said about a dozen of his friends have attempted or successfully committed suicide and "it seems that not a year goes by without an incident."

This conference was initiated by the First Nations Summit and the provincial government's Child and Youth Office, and was supported by the Metis Provincial Council, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, United Native Nations, and the Tsimshian, Nisga'a and Haida nations. It was held in Rupert because the area has been a flashpoint of Aboriginal youth suicide in recent years.

There were a number of suicide-related incidents in the spring of 2004 in Rupert and its neighboring villages, prompting an unprecedented response by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal agencies, which has become a model for other communities.

In fact, a new Youth Suicide Protocol Agreement was created by the agencies and communities and signed at the end of the conference. The agreement formalizes the action that will be taken, and sets the priorities, should a suicide incident involving an Aboriginal youth occur.

"We still have a lot of work to do but this is an important first step," said one of the chief signatories, Tsimshian Tribal Council President Bob Hill prior to signing the document. "I was very impressed with how people responded to the crisis (last spring). A lot of hard work has been put into this by a lot of people."

Hill and his fellow signatories acknowledged that more work still needs to be done on a community-by-community basis and that it needs to be done in partnership with, if not led by, youth.

"I think the main message we've got is, 'OK, now that you're listening and now that you're behind us, understand that it's not just us, it's the communities that need help," said Greenville youth delegate Andy Robinson. "There have been a lot of cuts to our support systems. Some communities don't have funding for a youth worker; every community should have a youth worker."

Andy Robinson works for the Greenville village council and said it is realizing the need to involve youth and support workers in the planning process, saying that other communities should follow Greenville's lead and make youth funing a line item in their budgets.

And Robinson concurred that Elders must pay attention and not hide from the issue.

"For a long time, Elders have not wanted to talk about suicide, saying it's bad luck, but you can't just sweep it under the rug. One girl (delegate) said 'we're respecting you by telling you our stories, by trusting your wisdom; all we're asking is that you respect us by listening, to see things from our perspective."

A report on the conference, being prepared by the provincial Child and Youth officer, Jane Morley, is expected to be released in mid-summer.