Why are the suicide rates so high for the Aboriginal population?
There are many reasons for the high levels of suicide among the Native population: Socio-economic: Poverty is common in Native communities. Living conditions are often crowded. Water and sewer facilities are often inadequate. “…45% of all status Indians living on reserve are illiterate.” Present-day economic hardship has its roots in a failed government policy which was aimed at assimilating Natives into the rest of society. The historical Native tribal society was to be dismantled; its subsistence-based economy was to be replaced by agriculture. But restrictions applied by the government guaranteed that the policy would fail, leaving Native communities without a method of supporting themselves. Culture Stress: The Canadian government’s policies included the destruction of much of Native culture, values and religion. With the help of the Christian churches, these traditions were largely replaced with Christianity. The main players were the Roman Catholic Church, Presbyterian Church,
