Counselling, not canoe sheds needed for First Nations youth, mental health worker says – CBC

4 young people died by suicide in January in the Nishnawbe Aski Nation

Jan 31, 2017

A powerful speech about suicide by a 20-year-old woman from Eabametoong First Nation changed the agenda for a meeting of chiefs from northern Ontario in Thunder Bay on Tuesday.

Valerie Ooshag told the Nishnawbe Aski Nation winter chiefs assembly that they must listen to young people and find ways to get them the resources they need to curb the suicide epidemic.

Four young people have died by suicide this month in the 49 First Nations that stretch across Ontario’s far north. The most recent involved a 21-year-old man from Deer Lake on the weekend. More than 500 people have died by suicide in the last 30 years in the area, which has a population of about 45,000 people.

Read More: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/first-nation-youth-advice-1.3960332