THUNDER BAY - In order to find new ways of hearing those who feel like no one is listening, a group of Indigenous youth from Northern Ontario are travelling across the world to listen to and speak with other cultures who are facing a suicide crisis.
This week, seven Nishnawbe Aski Nation youth departed Thunder Bay and are travelling across the world to participate in the Second Annual World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference in Perth, Australia.
“It’s very important because the suicide rate is high among First Nation youth,” said 20-year-old, Erickson Owen, one of the youth taking part in the conference. “I think it’s important that we help out youth that are suffering so that they know we are listening and we know what they are going through and it’s important that we help them because they are the future.”
The international conference brings together cultures from around the world that are facing high rates of suicide among Indigenous populations.
Anna Betty Achneepineskum, the NAN director of women and youth advocacy, will be attending the conference as well, and she said Indigenous cultures from around the world have a lot to share and learn from one another.
“Indigenous people, not only in Australia, but throughout other parts of the world have similar struggles and challenges that we have,” she said. “Many of them are more advanced than us and we believe this is an opportunity for us to learn and to share and to network and this is a great opportunity for our young people to expand their knowledge and to learn from others.”
During the 12 day trip, the youth will give a presentation about the some of the initiatives being taken in Northern Ontario to address the youth suicide crisis, including the Choose Life Program, a pilot project designed to provide community and youth training and promotion on suicide prevention.
“In this short time, we have seen great advancement in terms of empowering our young people,” Achneepineskum said. “That message of honouring life, it has made grand transformations in some of our communities.”
Internationally, suicide rates among Indigenous people can be 20 times higher than that of non-Indigenous people.
Owen said he is hoping to learn from what other cultures have done or are doing to reach out to people, especially youth, who are facing these struggles on a daily basis.
“I am hoping to learn some new tactics on what kind of programs they have and see if they can use those programs here,” he said. “There are many suicides going on in the reserves each year, so it’s going to be good if we observe what we are doing here and help each other out.”
And it will be the youth who will be listening, so they can speak to others who need to be heard, instead of feeling alone, isolated, and silenced.
“Part of empowering our young people is ensuring our young people have an opportunity to be the voice for our nation,” Achneepineskum said.
