Save culture, save lives, say youth

On the tenth anniversary of National Aboriginal Day, youth representatives from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Decade Youth Council met with the Hon. Mary Anne Chambers, Ontario's Minister of Children and Youth Services, to present their own report on the suicide epidemic in the 49 NAN communities in northwestern Ontario.

The statistics reported by NAN are shocking:

• For over 20 years, suicide rates in NAN communities have remained from three to forty times the national average.
  
• In 2005, there were 24 completed suicides in NAN territory. This was one of the highest rates of suicide in Canada.
  

Since January 2006, there have been 14 completed suicides. Of the 14, 13 people were under 29 years of age and eight of those were between 15 and 20 years of age.

At the hour-long roundtable discussion with the minister, six young people presented a clear picture of suicide in their communities; what they feel are some of the contributing factors; and how they have been working to prevent it.

One of the most important strategies in the NAN Decade Youth Council's prevention efforts is a "Save culture, Save lives" approach that emphasizes the documented "protective" and positive effects that a strong cultural identity has on Aboriginal youth. Members of the NAN Decade Youth Council have created several youth-driven programs that incorporate practices such as healing ceremonies and the teaching of traditional hand drumming.

The minister was also be presented with a report, The Seventh Generation Helping to Heal: Nishnawbe Aski Youth and the Suicide Epidemic. This report was written by several members of the youth council and is both a compelling message of hope and an urgent call to action.

The meeting with the minister was part of a larger initiative to raise awareness about suicide and the current state of mental health in Northwestern First Nations communities. This project, spearheaded by Voices for Children, focuses on involving youth; linking efforts of researchers, mental health providers and community members; and developing a communications plan to drive action-oriented recommendations.

For more information, read the full report, The Seventh Generation Helping to Heal: Nishnawbe Aski Youth and the Suicide Epidemic at http://www.voicesforchildren.ca/report-Jun2006-1.htm

Voices for Children is an independent organization dedicated to turning knowledge into action for the well-being of Ontario's young people. www.voicesforchildren.ca 

BOOK REVIEW
“On Thin Ice”

“On Thin Ice” - By Jamie Bastedo
Reviwed by Kim Covert ,CP

Magical realism and stark reality mix in On Thin Ice, the coming-of-age story of a young girl in Canada's Arctic.

Ashley is a ``minestrone girl,'' with an Inuit father and a French-Canadian mother. She lives in a crazy house with her parents, two brothers, a labradoodle and a scarlet macaw, plus her paternal grandmother and great-uncle, Joshua.

They've just moved to the small town where her father grew up to take care of Joshua, because he has refused to move south to live with them after being kicked out of his nursing home.

Shortly after they arrive, weird weather starts to happen – a storm on Labour Day that causes major flooding and then a six-day blizzard. The body one of the young boys in town is found with signs of having been eaten by a polar bear. But polar bears haven't been seen in the area for decades.

Just before all these weird things happen, Ashley dreams about them. Her grandmother and uncle seem to know far more about her dreams and what they might mean than they're willing to tell her.

Ashley tells the story of On Thin Ice in a 16-year-old's voice, irreverent, impatient, wondering. Bastedo paints her both as the bored, aloof, know-it-all teenager many parents in the south will recognize, and also as a child of her environment and culture, respectful of her Elders, enchanted by traditional drumming and so delighted by waking up to a blizzard that she runs outside in her pyjamas to celebrate.

Bastedo doesn't ignore social problems in the modern Arctic, but they're peripheral to the main story – Ashley's father is a hard-working broadcaster but her friend Rosie's parents are violent drunks. In the same way, global warming isn't a main character in the book but it is always present, its effects always noticeable. This is being marketed as young adult fiction, but people of all ages can enjoy this book, and learn something from it.  

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