FSIN Vice-Chief Bob Merasty at a conference on Monday. Photo courtesy FSIN
Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott says investments Ottawa is making in indigenous communities should help fight despair.
She says five mental health workers have arrived in the northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat.
Attawapiskat, a remote fly-in community on the shore of James Bay, is back in the national headlines after a rash of suicide attempts; there have been 11 this month alone.
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations jumped into the fray on Monday, holding a news conference at FSIN’s main office in Saskatoon.
Vice-Chief Bob Merasty spoke, saying action needs to be taken at all levels of government to keep their member nations from the same fate.
“We stand with Attawapiskat and all communities that are faced with these serious mental health crises and tragic suicide outbreaks. We need to collaborate together to prevent the incidences of suicide and attempted suicide before we ourselves end up in a state of emergency,” he said.
Vice-Chief Merasty said Canadians need to engage youth in northern and remote communities – places like La Loche.
Resources need to be there to get young people back in touch with their culture and identity, he added.
“There’s a strong need for capacity within communities so that we have the tools and human resources available at the ground level that should be focused on prevention and intervention with a culturally responsible component attached that will focus on the identity of the client,” he said.
A holistic approach – with education, sports, health and social development – is what will help pull communities from hopelessness, Vice-Chief Merasty said.
Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency on the weekend, saying “community front line resources are exhausted, and no additional outside resources are available.”
– With files from the Canadian Press