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GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
GLOBAL OVERVIEW:
INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
Professor Pat Dudgeon, Dr Ian Ring,
Georgia Leyendekkers, Dr Kahu McClintock,
Dr Keri Lawson-Te Aho, Dr Malcolm King,
Dr Alexandra King, Dr Gayle Skawen:nio Morse,
Michele Connolly and Jon Petter A Stoor
The Centre of Best Practice in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Suicide Prevention
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 1
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONThe Centre of Best Practice in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Poche Centre for
Islander Suicide Prevention Indigenous Health
Cover Artwork Shifting Sands by Roma Winmar
Authors
Professor Pat Dudgeon Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention,
Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, University of Western Australia.
Dr Ian Ring Adjunct Professor, University of Wollongong, Australia.
Georgia Leyendekkers Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention,
Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, University of Western Australia.
Dr Kahu McClintock Te Kìwai Rangahau, Te Rau Matatini (National Centre for Māori Health,
Māori Workforce Development and Excellence). Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Dr Keri Lawson-Te Aho Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Dr Malcolm King Professor, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology,
University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Dr Alexandra King Inaugural Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness,
University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Dr Gayle Skawen:nio Morse School of Health Sciences, The Sage Colleges,
United States of America.
Michele Connolly International Group on Indigenous Health Measurement, United States of America.
Jon Petter A Stoor Sámi Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Mental Health and Substance Use (SANKS),
Finnmark County Hospital Trust, Norway.
The Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention is funded by the Australian
Government through the Department of Health’s National Suicide Prevention Leadership and Support Program.
This material is copyright © University of Western Australia, except where otherwise indicated. You may download, store
in cache, display, print and reproduce the material in an unaltered form only (retaining this notice, or links to it where they
appear) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. You may not deal with the material in a
manner that might mislead or deceive any person.
Poche Centre for Indigenous Health
School of Indigenous Studies
University of Western Australia
08 6488 3428 35
Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009
Published: November 2018
Publications (online) ISBN: 978-1-74052-408-7
Reference: Dudgeon et al. (2018). Global Overview: Indigenous Suicide Rates. Perth, WA: University of Western Australia.
The opinions, comments and analyses expressed in the document are those of the author/s and individual participants
and do not necessarily represent the views of the Government and cannot be taken in any way as expressions of
Government Policy.
2| GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONTA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
GLOSSARY.......................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION............................................................................... 5
DEFINITIONS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES................................ 6
COLONISATION AND SUICIDE.................................................... 6
Notes...........................................................................................................6
CAPTURING WORLD INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES.............. 7
OVERVIEW BY COUNTRY.............................................................. 8
Australia .....................................................................................................8
Aotearoa: New Zealand ..........................................................................10
TURTLE ISLAND: NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT...............12
Canada ..................................................................................................... 12
United States of America ...................................................................... 16
CIRCUMPOLAR REGIONS............................................................19
Sápmi: Scandinavia.................................................................................. 19
Kalaallit Nunaat: Greenland.................................................................... 21
APPENDICES................................................................................... 22
ppendix 1: Table: Suicide Data for Overall Populations at Latest
A
Available Year.......................................................................................... 22
REFERENCES.................................................................................. 23
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 3
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONGLOSSARY
Mainstream: Usually the non-Indigenous population of the country, alternatively- the dominant population.
Dominant society: Usually the White dominant population and systems of government of a Western country.
This population usually has a higher population than the Indigenous population.
Overall: Overall data includes total population of the country- including Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous peoples1: The working definition used throughout this paper is as below. For a more detailed understanding
of Indigenous peoples, see A working definition, by José Martinez Cobo (IWGIA, 2011).
Colonisation: The process of settling and establishing control over the Indigenous peoples of an area2.
Age-standardised: The age-standardised mortality rate is a weighted average of the age-specific mortality rates per
100,000 persons, where the weights are the proportions of persons in the corresponding age groups of the corresponding
countries standard population.
1 The terms used for First Nations or Indigenous peoples, like 'Australian Aboriginal peoples', 'Inuit’ and 'Indigenous' are used interchangeably. It is
acknowledged that there are many cultural differences amongst and within the world’s First Nations and Indigenous communities and the use of differing
terms does not intend to disregard such differences. For the purpose of this report, the term ‘Indigenous’ is used, unless specific groups of Indigenous
people need to be recognised.
2 This definition is commonly used; however, some Indigenous peoples use the term ‘invasion’ to describe the process of colonisation.
4| GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONINTRODUCTION
This background paper presents an overview of suicide in Indigenous peoples in countries where there is a dominant
White society. The countries identified for this background paper share similar colonial histories and all but Greenland have
populations where the Indigenous population is significantly smaller in comparison to the non-Indigenous/mainstream
population.
The countries reviewed for suicide rates were Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada, the United States of America,
Greenland, and Scandinavian countries of Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia3. These are all countries where the
Indigenous peoples have elevated suicide rates compared to the non-Indigenous/mainstream population (Pollock, Naicker,
Loro, Mulay & Colman, 2018).
Whilst definite figures for Greenland are unavailable, a rate of 82.8 suicide deaths per 100 000 in 2015 was identified in an
analysis of suicides (Hersher, 2016). Greenland Inuit people make up 90% of the population of Greenland, and it shares a
colonial history. A global comparison of Indigenous suicide rates to non-Indigenous rates at particular time periods in these
colonised countries has been collected in the following table.
Global Comparisons:
Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Population Suicide Rates at Various Years
80 76.9
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
70
60
50
40
31.8
30 25.5
21.4
18.4
20 13.5
12.6 11.1 11.2
10.8
10
0
Australia Aotearoa/NZ Canada Canada USA (2016)
(2016) (2013) (First Nations, (Inuit Region
1993-2009) v Overall Pop,
2004-2008)
Overall Population Indigenous Population
Table 1: Global Comparisons: Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Population Suicide Rates at Various Years. Australia (Australian Bureau of
Statistics, 2018), Aotearoa/NZ (Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora, 2017) Canada (Statistics Canada, 2018a; Pollock, Mulay, Valcour &
Jong, 2016), USA (American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, 2016; Jiaquan et al., 2018).
For comparisons of overall population data4 on suicide deaths in these countries, the figures on suicide deaths, age-
standardised at the latest available year are available in Appendix 1.
3 These are the four countries in which the Indigenous Sámi peoples live, with the Sámi lands referred to as Sápmi.
4 Overall data includes total population of the country- including Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 5
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONDEFINITIONS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
This paper uses the widely accepted working definition developed by the United Nations;
Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and
pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the
societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society
and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic
identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social
institutions and legal systems. (IWGIA, 2018)
COLONISATION AND SUICIDE
Countries in which Indigenous people remain a dispossessed minority face considerable adversity, part of which includes the
impacts of the history of colonisation. As Indigenous populations engage in processes of recovery and cultural reclamation,
the processes of colonisation have left a legacy showing up as disadvantage, particularly in comparison to mainstream
populations. These issues are shared by Indigenous populations across the globe. In particular, high rates of suicide are a
shared issue. As colonisation is a social determinant of suicide (Redvers et al., 2015), Indigenous peoples in nations with
shared colonial histories are highlighted in this paper.
Suicide is complex and should be treated as such, including the ways in which the complex traumas of colonisation can
contribute to suicide deaths in Indigenous communities living in colonised countries. By culturally contextualising suicide
deaths for Indigenous people, this paper aims to collaborate information in these countries to better inform and strengthen
suicide prevention.
It also needs to be noted that behind each number is a person, a family, and a community grieving the impacts of suicide.
Notes
There is a lack of global comparative data for Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations across different countries. The
in-country data used in this paper may not use methodologies consistent to the comparable countries. However, data
sources are referenced throughout this paper and need to be considered when interpreting the findings. Not all in-country
demographic data, including systematic health data collection systems for specific groups, is readily available.
Where age-standardised and gender-standardised data is available, it is made clear throughout the paper. However,
variations in Indigenous grouping (eg. distinctions made between Métis peoples and Inuit peoples in Canada), and regional
variations (eg. Remote circumpolar and urban regions) were not always distinct.
6| GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONCAPTURING WORLD INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
Sápmi:
Canada: Sámi peoples suicide
First Nations peoples rates are elevated in
have suicide rates comparison to majority
nearly three times the populations in Norway,
national average Sweden and
Finland.
G R E E N L AN D
C A N AD A
Circumpolar
Regions:
U N ITED STAT E S Inuit communities in Aotearoa/New
OF AM ERIC A Canada and Greenland Zealand:
experience some of the Māori suicide rates are
highest suicide rates over one and a half
in the world. times the general
population
USA:
American Indian and
Alaska Native suicide A US T R A L I A
rates are over one and
a half times the
national average. Australia:
Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people
suicide rates are twice
the general
population.
Map 1: Indigenous Suicide Rates, Global Context.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 7
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONOVERVIEW BY COUNTRY
BRIEF TIMELINE
AUSTRALIA
Approximately 500-700 groups,
languages, and/or tribes and
750 000 at time of colonisation Overview
Australia’s population is currently estimated to be just over 25 million people,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
with an estimated almost 800 000 people identifying as Aboriginal, Torres
Islander peoples living in Australia
Strait Islander, or both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Australian Bureau
between 40-60,000 years ago.
Statistics, 2018c).
1788: Beginning of colonisation
A brief timeline of Australia’s history shows that in the years since European
as European settlers/invaders
settlers arrived, colonisation has had a profound impact on Aboriginal and
arrived.
Torres Strait Islander peoples, health, land, and cultures. In 2018, Aboriginal
Frontiers wars, land and resource and Torres Strait Islander communities face some of the highest suicide rates in
disputes, slave labour, and the world, and it is the fifth leading cause of death compared to 13th for non-
violence followed. Indigenous Australians (ABS, 2018b).
1900s: Laws of assimilation and According to the latest figures provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
denial made and implemented (ABS), Indigenous Australian suicide rates were double the overall Australian
about Aboriginal cultures, rate in 2017 (ABS, 2018a; ABS, 2018b).
languages and history. The forced
Suicide accounts for a greater proportion of overall deaths amongst Aboriginal
removal of Indigenous children.
and Torres Strait Islander peoples than non-Indigenous Australians, at 5.5%
Health issues and mental health compared to 2.0% in 2017 (ABS, 2018c).
issues pertinent in Aboriginal and
Australia: 2017 Suicide Rates
Torres Strait Islander communities
as a result of colonisation. 45
39.6
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
40
High rates of suicide and
other health issues. Still no 35
treaty between the Australian
30
governments and the traditional 25.5
custodians of the land. 25
19.7 19.1
Contemporary: Aboriginal and 20
Torres Strait Islander population 15 11.9 12.7 21.6
around 3% of 25 million
Australians 120 Indigenous 10
6.0 6.2
language groups remain in 5
2018 with many at high risk, but
language and cultural reclamation 0
Indigenous Non-Indigenous Overall
is strong.
(Mooney, 2018; Australia Institute of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Males Females Total
2018)
Table 2: Australia: 2017 Suicide Rates. Data retrieved from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS, 2018a; ABS, 2018b). There is no disaggregated data between Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander groups.
8| GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth
In 2017, suicide remained the leading cause of death for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and
non-Indigenous children and young people between 5-17 years of age. Suicide accounted for 40% of all
Indigenous deaths in this age bracket.
For 2013 – 2017, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth (aged 5-17 years of age) accounted for
26.7% of Indigenous deaths by suicide, with suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
and young people at 10.1 suicide deaths per 100 000 persons, compared to the same age group of
non-Indigenous people at 2 suicide deaths per 100 000 peoples (ABS, 2018c).
Young Indigenous men are at the highest risk of suicide (The Department of Health, 2013). In the 2013
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy, it was indicated that the highest
age-specific rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide was among males between 25 and 29
years of age at 90.8 suicide deaths per 100,000 persons, four times the rate for non-Indigenous males
(2013).
Regional Disparity
Suicide rates vary geographically and
within groups such as youth. In the
Kimberley region of Western Australia in TIMOR SEA PACIFIC OCEAN
the 10 year period between 2005-2014 KIMBERLEY
REGION
there was an age-adjusted rate of 74 NORTHERN
suicide deaths per 100 000 peoples TERRITORY
(McHugh, Campbell, Chapman &
Balaratnasingam, 2016). QUEENSLAND
WESTERN
AUSTRALIA
Risk Factors
SOUTH
The high Indigenous suicide rate in
AUSTRALIA
Australia is attributed to a range of
complex and interrelated factors that
heighten the risk for suicidal behaviours. NEW SOUTH
These include trauma, grief and loss WALES
associated with the ongoing impacts Canberra
INDIAN OCEAN
of colonisation and dislocation. Such VICTORIA
impacts include the effects of forced
removal of children, mistreatment and
Map 2: Map of Australia, Kimberley Region.
pervasive racism and discrimination at
TASMANIA
the individual, institutional and system
levels, and the cumulative impacts of
ongoing exposure to socio-economic disadvantage and various other psychological stressors (Dudgeon et
al., 2016). Loss of language, culture, and land struggles have been attributed to elevated suicide rates.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 9
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONBRIEF TIMELINE AOTEAROA: NEW ZEALAND
The Māori population around
1800 was approximately Overview
100-120 000 people New Zealand, or known in the Māori language as Aotearoa, has an estimated
population of 4.5 million with Māori people representing 15% (IWGIA, 2018).
Māori are the Indigenous peoples
The Indigenous Polynesian Māori peoples had occupied Aotearoa for more
of New Zealand, or known to the
than 700 years before European arrival between 1769-79.
Māori as Aotearoa.
Late 1700s: Colonisation began Aotearoa/New Zealand: 2015 Suicide Rates
and land wars followed between
30
Māori people and the new settler
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People 25.3
population.
25
Treaty of Waitangi signed in 1840
but not implemented. 20 18.4
16.4
Due to the hostile takeover of 14.7
15
lands and the introduction of
11.5 11.1
diseases by Europeans, the Māori 9.7
population had declined by the 10
end of the 1800s. 6.1
4.7
5
The Māori population face
adversity across all social and
0
health indicators, including higher Māori Non-Māori Overall
suicide rates at nearly twice the
general population.
Males Females Total
Contemporary: Māori population
is 15% of overall New Zealand
population. First World Indigenous Table 3: Aotearoa/New Zealand: 2015 Suicide PACIFIC OCEAN
Rates. Overall data, and sex-specific data for Māori
Suicide Prevention conference
and non-Māori figures was retrieved from Ministry of
held in Aotearoa in 2016, Health - Manatū Hauora (2017). Total data for Māori and
presenting the Turamarama non-Māori figures were mean-valued, as they
Declaration for Suicide Prevention. were not available from data sources NORTH
(Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 2018) ISLAND
Māori Peoples Auckland
Data indicates that Māori peoples TASMAN SEA
are at higher risk of suicide than non-Māori peoples. Māori males accounted for
25.3 and Māori females 11.5 suicide deaths per 100 000 in 2015. This is compared
to non-Māori males at 14.7 and non-Māori females 4.7 suicide deaths per 100 000
peoples (Ministry of Health- Manatū Hauora, 2017). While New Zealand’s general
suicide rate has increased over the past four years, Māori men are disproportionately Wellington
represented in the statistics, with a 12 per cent increase of suicide deaths per
100 000 people in the last year, according to provisional5
data (Flahive, 2018). SOUTH
ISLAND Christchurch
PACIFIC OCEAN
AOTEAROA
NEW ZEALAND
Map 3: Aotearoa/New Zealand.
5 Provisional data is unreviewed or unedited data that has yet been finalised.
10 | GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONMore recent 2018 provisional figures show an increase in Māori deaths compared to other populations,
as seen in the graph below (Flahive, 2018).
Suicide Rates, New Zealand (Provisional)
26
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Asian Māori Pacific Other
Table 4: Suicide Rates Aotearoa/New Zealand (Provisional). Provisional figures for Aotearoa/New Zealand adapted
from the data by the Ministry of Justice. ‘Other’ represents all other peoples not identifying as Asian, Māori, or Pacific
(Flahive, 2018).
Youth
The most recent Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee’s report on suicide between 2002-2016
found that Māori children aged between 10 to 14 accounted for 60 percent of all suicides in that age
group (New Zealand Mortality Review Data Group, 2018).
Considering around 45% of the Māori population are aged between 0-19 years, youth suicide is of major
concern.
Risk Factors
Social and cultural factors, historic disadvantage, discrimination, prejudice and exclusion have been linked
with Māori suicides. Māori-specific suicide prevention frameworks have been developed as effective
strategies to prevent youth suicide (Best Practice Advocacy Centre NZ, 2010).
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 11
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONTURTLE ISL AND:
NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT
Some Indigenous peoples from across the Americas share similar
BRIEF TIMELINE creation stories around the formation of what is widely accepted as
The First Nations, Metis and Inuit North America6. Turtle Island is home to many First Nations bands,
peoples lived on the northern half of with some groups transcending the US and Canadian border- as
North America since approximately modern geopolitical borders are a colonial construct and not definitive
12,000 years ago. of tribal boundaries or lands. Suicide rates across North America/Turtle
Island differ depending on the region, and some groups have stronger
First Nations peoples lived in organised data on suicide deaths than others.
societies across North America;
maintaining sustainable economies,
politics and rich spiritual beliefs and CANADA
cultures.
Overview
1600-1700’s: The French and British Canada has an estimated population of 36.7 million people, with
colonised/invaded and fought over approximately 1.7 million people identifying as Aboriginal persons in
modern day Canada. Systemic upheaval the 2016 Census (Statistics Canada, 2018c).
and displacement of Indigenous peoples
from traditional land through war, violence Historically, suicide was a rare occurrence amongst Indigenous
and forced relocation. Canadian people, and it was only after contact with Europeans and
the effects of colonialism that suicide became prevalent (Kirmayer,
1876: The Indian Act was passed, 2007). The higher rates of suicide in Indigenous communities has been
controlling First Nations through forced linked to historic trauma, cultural losses, and social upheavals that
assimilation, removal of children, were a result of European settlement and colonisation (Public Health
desecration of traditional lands and Agency of Canada, 2016).
residential schooling.
Disaggregated data for suicide deaths in Canada in Indigenous and
1940’s and 1950’s: Inuit in Canada’s non-Indigenous populations is not readily available. The Canadian
north displaced by European settlers for Government in the Working Together to Prevent Suicide in Canada:
resources and military purposes. The Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention has identified that there
is a great need to enhance suicide information, including data and
Ongoing impacts of colonisation place research as currently this information is fragmented, complex, and
Indigenous Canadians as an at risk group. difficult to access (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2016).
Higher rates of physical and mental illness,
compared to non-Indigenous Canadians. Indigenous Populations
Suicide rates can often be extremely high, Canada has three distinct Indigenous groups. First Nations, Métis, and
whereas, before the 19th century suicide Inuit making up 4.9% of Canada’s total population (IWGIA, 2018).
was extremely rare amongst Indigenous
First Nations, Inuit, and Métis are collectively referred to as Indigenous
Canadians.
peoples (Centre for Suicide Prevention, 2013). It needs to be
recognised that in some circumstances;
Canada is home to approximately
1.7 million Indigenous people. They …terms may differ from those used by individuals to self-identify. For
make up approximately 4.9% of the example, the NunatuKavut Community Council refers to the group it
total population. represents as “Southern Inuit” although individually some community
(The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement
members may use the terms ‘Métis’ or ‘Inuit-Métis.’ (Pollock, Mulay,
of Women, 2016; Canada Guide, 2018; Indigenous Valcour & Jong, 2016)
and Northern Affairs Canada, 2018)
6 The North American continent includes all Provinces and Territories of Canada, and the mainland States of the United States of America including the
State of Alaska; however, does not encompass the State of Hawai’i and Other Pacific Islands.
12 | GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONStatistics representing Indigenous groups of Canada are not always readily available, however, the
distinctions in suicide rates between these groups are made clearer below.
Suicide Rates: First Nations, Inuit and Overall Canadian Population
160
135
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
140
120
100
80
60
40
24
12
20
0
First Nations throughout All Inuit Regions in Canada Total
Canada in 2000 1999-2003 period in 2001
People
Table 5: Suicide Rates: First Nations, Inuit and Overall Canadian Population at Various Periods. Table adapted from
“The Human Face of Mental Health and Mental Illness in Canada 2006” (Government of Canada, 2006), showing the
elevated suicide rates in Indigenous communities compared to the general population of Canada with the available data
across various period between 1999-2003.
Inuit Peoples
uicide among Inuit in Canada began to rise in the 1960s, especially among the first generation of young
people growing up in settled communities. Historically, there was no evidence of high suicide rates in Inuit
communities (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2016).
Inuit Nunangat is the homeland
of Inuit of Canada. Inuit Nunangat ARCTIC OCEAN
encompasses the land, ice, and
sea of the Inuit communities
INUVIALUIT
located in the four Inuit regions,
Beaufort
Inuvialut, Nunavut, Nunavik, Sea Baffin Bay
Nunatsiavut (Inuit Tapiriit Clyde River
Kanatami, 2009). The population
Baffin Island
of Inuit Nunangat is around 86%
Aboriginal identifying peoples7 Yukon NUNATSIAVUT
(Li & Smith, 2016). Northwest NUNAVUT
Territories Newfoundland
& Labrador
Hudson Bay
NUNAVIK
CANADA
QUEBEC
USA
Map 4: Inuit Nunangat Regions in Canada.
7 Largely Inuit population, with a small percentage of First Nations and Métis peoples
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 13
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONData shows Inuit communities have significantly higher suicide rates than First Nations and Métis populations
(Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006). Inuit Nunangat have rates of suicide between 5-25 times the rate
of suicide compared to mainstream rates for the whole of Canada (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2016). A more
specific figure according to the Canadian Government shows suicide in Inuit Nunangat is more than six times
higher than the rate in non-Indigenous regions (Webster, 2016).
Inuit Regions Suicide Rates
140
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
120.3
120
100
76.9
80
60
40 31.1
17.1
20 11.2
5.3
0
Inuit Nunangat (Inuit Regions) Overall
Males Females Total
Table 6: Inuit Regions Suicide Rates between 2004-2008. Inuit Nunangat (Inuit Regions with high Inuit Population)
and overall Canada data for the 2004-2008 period collected from Statistics Canada (2018a). Indigenous and non-
Indigenous disaggregated data is currently unavailable.
More recent figures released in 2016, show Inuit Nunangat had a suicide rate of 73.6 per 100 000 peoples
compared to the mainstream Canadian suicide rate of 10.8 per 100 000, showing a slight decrease
(Pollock, Mulay, Valcour & Jong, 2016).
First Nations Peoples
First Nations identify as status and non-status Indians living on and off reserves, with around 614 First
Nations bands8 (Olson, 2013; Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006). The figures show the comparison
of suicide rates between First Nations peoples and the general population over the 1979-2000 period
(Kirmayer, 2007).
Figures collected over the 1993-2009 period suggest First Nations people experience suicide rates at 31.8
per 100 000 people in some regions (Pollock, Mulay, Valcour & Jong, 2016).
Comparison of Suicide Rates of First Nations and General Canadian Population
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
40
30
20
10
0
1979-1981 1982-1984 1985-1987 1988-1990 1991-1993 1999 2000
First Nations (Status Indian) General Population
Table 7: Comparison of Suicide Rates of First Nations and Overall Canadian population between
1979-2000. Graph adapted from Kirmayer (2007).
8 Bands refers to a group or tribe of First Nations or Indian people. Sometimes referred to as a basic unit of government
representing the group.
14 | GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONMétis Peoples
Métis peoples identify as a group of people of mixed First Nations and European ancestry, distinct from
First Nations, Inuit, and non-Aboriginal peoples (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006). There is currently
no available suicide data specific to Métis-identifying peoples.
Youth Suicide
Suicide is responsible for 40% of deaths in Inuit youth, compared with 8% across Canada (Webster,
2016). Rates for Inuit youth in some areas are up to 40 times the national average (Crawford, 2016).
Regional Disparity
The highest age-standardised mortality rates in
Canada are in Aboriginal subregions in Labrador
with the highest region reaching 165.6
suicide deaths per 100 000 people ARCTIC
(Pollock, Mulay, Valcour & Jong, 2016). OCEAN
Labrador is a part of Canada’s
easternmost province ALASKA
Newfoundland and
Labrador (IWGIA, 2018).
ATLANTIC
NORTHWEST NUNAVUT
OCEAN
TERRITORIES
NE
W
Risk Factors FO
UN
Research indicates an important CANADA DL
AN
link between suicide risk and Hudson Bay D
trauma resulting from BRITISH
ALBERTA
COLUMBIA
assimilative policies with
AN
QUEBEC
MANITOBA
James
SASKATCHEW
the legacy of colonisation PACIFIC Bay
in some Aboriginal OCEAN
ONTARIO
communities Ottawa
(Public Health Agency Toronto
of Canada, 2016). NEW
BRUNSWICK
USA
Inuit people and other Indigenous Canadians are 8 times
more at-risk and vulnerable to adverse social determinants,
such as living in overcrowded homes, that has an impact on Map 5: Canada, with regions including
peoples mental and physical health (Webster, 2016). Newfoundland and Labrador shown.
Other risk factors include;
• A lack of resources including food,
• Lack of access to basic health care facilities,
• High rates of mental trauma rooted in forced settlements and residential schooling as a result of
colonisation (Olson, 2013),
• High rates of abuse and childhood adversity (Webster, 2016).
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 15
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONBRIEF TIMELINE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Native American peoples have been in
North and South America for at least Overview
30,000- 40,000 years. The United States of America’s current population is estimated at
around 328 million people (United States Census Bureau, 2018).
American Indian peoples lived in harmony
America includes the modern borders on the North American
with nature, with in-depth cultural history
continent, the State of Alaska, and the State of Hawai’i. American
and the development of agricultural farming
Samoa, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Palau, the Federated States
and extensive inter-group trade.
of Micronesia, and the Northern Mariana Islands are included
1492: European invasion began, beginning as associated states or territories of the USA. The Indigenous
the process of colonisation of the ‘New peoples of these associated states or territories are represented
World’. under the broader term ‘Other Pacific Islanders’ in demographics
documentation.
The American Indian population was
about 240,000 in 1890, dropping from an CANADA
estimated 8 million.
NORTH
1778 to 1871: There were more than MONTANA DAKOTA
NEW
YORK
500 treaties signed between the USA SOUTH
government and Native American tribes, DAKOTA Washington DC
with all these treaties being violated in some
way by the USA government.
UTAH
CA
COLORADO
1800’s: With Native American peoples
LIF
O
resisting the invasion of their traditional
RN
NEW OKLAHOMA
IA
lands and desecration of culture, the ARIZONA MEXICO ATLANTIC
governments of the USA stripped OCEAN
Native American tribes of their land and
sovereignty; confining them to reservations
and legally controlling their movements and ALASKA
freedom.
HAWAII
Children were forcibly removed from their
families and culture into residential schools,
Indigenous religious practices were
MEXICO
prohibited on reservations and traditional
Map 6: The United States of America.
hunting rights and practices were restricted.
Simplifying America’s population into Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Ongoing effects of colonisation place
peoples does not capture the complexity of America’s history and
American Indian peoples as a risk group,
the ethnic demographics of the current population. A snapshot of the
with heightened rates of physical and
history of colonisation in the USA is provided for context.
mental health issues and suicide.
Indigenous Populations
Today, there are approximately 6 million
The American Indian9 and Alaska Native population is estimated
Native Americans in the USA, making up
to be around 2.5-6 million people (IWGIA, 2018). There are 573
2% of the American population in 2015.
American Indian/Alaska Native tribal entities in the US (Indian Affairs
(Pauls, 2018; Scholastic, 2018; Infoplease, 2017) Bureau, 2018). Native Hawaiians10 and Other Pacific Islanders have
an estimated population of 1.2 million people (Hixon, Hepler & Kim,
2012).
9 Data sources overwhelmingly use the term ‘American Indian,’ however ‘American Indian’ and ‘Native American’ are interchangeable terms for the
Indigenous peoples of the United States of America. ‘Alaska Native’ is a term specific to the Indigenous peoples residing and originating from the area
encompassing the State of Alaska, and other self-identifying individuals.
10 Native Hawai’ian peoples are the Indigenous Polynesian peoples that, before colonisation, lived in and exercised sovereignty in the modern American
State of Hawai’i.
16 | GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONSuicide rates for Native American and Alaska Native peoples aged 15-24 years are twice as high as non-
Indigenous Americans at 27.22 suicide deaths per 100 000 people (Rao, Pell & England-Kennedy, 2017).
There are currently no estimates of suicide rates for the non-Indigenous population. These rates are more
accurately comparable to the overall American population.
United States of America: 2016 Suicide Rates
35 33.1
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
30
25
21.4 21.4
20
13.5
15
10.3 10.1
10
6.7
6.0
3.6
5
0
American Indian Native Hawaiian and Overall
/Alaska Native Other Pacific Islander
Males Females Total
Table 8: United States of America: 2016 Suicide Rates. Overall data sourced from the American Foundation of Suicide
Prevention Indian/Alaska Native data sourced from Jiaquan et al. (2018). Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific
Islander data sourced from Center of Disease Control and Prevention (2017). Note that in some instances, Native
Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander is also grouped with Asian population counts. Non-Indigenous figures currently
unavailable.
American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples
Suicide among American Indians and Alaska Natives increased by 3% between 2014-2016.
As reported in the 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (Agency for Healthcare
Research Quality, 2017) suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska
Native populations between the ages of 10-34.
In 2014, the suicide rate for non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native males aged 25–44 was the
highest among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, at 48 per 100 000 peoples. This was 60%
higher than in 1999 at 30 per 100 000 peoples (Curtin, Warner & Hedegaard, 2016).
Native Hawai’ian
At 26% of all fatal injuries, suicide is the most common cause of death among all Hawaiian residents
(Hawai’i Health Data Warehouse, 2017). Further information is currently unavailable.
Youth
Native Hawai’ian peoples, particularly youth, have a higher prevalence of suicide attempts compared to
non-Indigenous youth at 14.1% compared to 7.1% respectively (Galanis, 2016).
Youth suicide in Native American and Alaskan communities is 70% higher than the rates of the general
population of the United States (Herne, Bartholomew & Weahkee, 2014).
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 17
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONElderly
American Indian and Alaska Native elders have lower rates of suicide than elders from other ethnic groups.
The reasons for this are hypothesised as cultural resilience and connectedness (Rao, Pell & England-
Kennedy, 2017).
Risk Factors
According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s reports on suicide among racial/ethnic
populations, common risk factors for American Indians and Alaska Natives include:
• Historical trauma- such as forced relocation, removal of children, prohibition of the use of native
languages and cultural traditions, and outlawing of traditional religious practices.
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Disconnection from family and culture
• Acculturation to mainstream culture
• Discrimination and prejudice- with LGBT identifying peoples at higher rates of suicide deaths,
attempts, and ideation than their heterosexual counterparts- both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.
• Community violence, with American Indian/Alaska Native youth at 2.5 times the exposure to trauma
that their mainstream counterparts
• Lack of access to and use of mental health services (Suicide Prevention Resources Center, 2013).
18 | GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONCIRCUMPOLAR REGIONS
Indigenous peoples living in the circumpolar Arctic regions across Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia,
Greenland, and North America have been found to account for some of the highest suicide rates in
the world. However, it is important to note there is great variance in the Arctic region within and across
Indigenous populations of different territories and contexts (Stoor, Kaiser, Jacobsson, Renberg & Silviken,
2015). For a more comprehensive understanding of this region, recommended reading is Suicide in
circumpolar regions: an introduction and overview (Young, Revich, & Soininen, 2015)
For Inuit Canadians see Canada
For Alaska Native peoples see United States of America
SÁPMI: SCANDINAVIA
Overview
Countries represented in Northern Europe or Scandinavia are Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The
Sámi peoples refer to their Indigenous lands, that spread across these four countries, as Sápmi. However,
there is not a clear definition (I.e. accepted by the nation states) on where these lands begin and end. A map
developed by the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs provides an overview (IWGIA, 2018).
HISTORY OF SÁPMI Sámi Peoples
Information about the history on the Between 80 000 to 100 000 Sámi peoples are believed to
colonisation of Sápmi is scarce and live across Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia (Bacchi,
incomplete. However, the Nordic 2017; Silviken, Haldorsen & Kvernmo, 2006). However,
nation states (todays Norway, the Nordic countries do not allow registration of ethnicity,
Sweden and Finland) and Russia including Sámi identity, in public records. This makes
gradually seized control of Sámi obtaining basic demography of the Sámi population
lands through advancing from the complicated and obtaining continuous and updated
south and along the shores of the statistics on suicide and other health statistics
Gulf of Bothnia and the northern impossible (Sámi Norwegian National
Finnmark
Atlantic. Violent policies of both Advisory Unit on Mental Health and
discrimination and assimilation were Substance Abuse
part of the colonization. Today, the & Saamicouncil, 2017).
Inari
Sámi are in minority throughout Girjas Kola Peninsula
Knowledge on Sárri village
their homelands, except in small suicide among Rovaniemi
municipalities in northernmost Sámi are therefore Kallak
Norway. based on cohort studies
comparing suicides in
majority populations with those of Sámi ethnicity in Sámi areas Norway
RUSSIA
(Silviken, Haldorsen & Kvernmo, 2006), Sweden (Hassler et al,
FINLAND
2005) and Finland (Soininen & Pukkola, 2008), respectively. Even
though the information is outdated, these statistics are still the
best available and show that generally, suicide is higher among NORWAY Helsinki
Sámi than majority populations in the same periods. Oslo
Stockholm
SWEDEN ESTONIA
DENMARK
LATVIA
Map 7: Sápmi region,
Northern Europe. LITHUANIA
Sápmi
GERMANY POLAND
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 19
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONNorthern Norway 1970-1998
It was reported an increased suicide risk amongst Indigenous Sámi in Arctic Norway between 1970-1998
study, as compared to the overall reference population. In particular, males between 15-24 were at the
highest risk at a rate of over 50 suicide deaths per 100 000 people as seen in Table 9 below (Silviken,
Haldorsen & Kvernmo, 2006).
Suicide Rates in Sámi, Northern Norway
60
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
50
40
30
20
10
0
0-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-
Male Female Age Group
Table 9: Suicide Rates in Sámi, Northern Norway. Adapted from Silviken, Haldorsen & Kvernmo (2006).
Northern Sweden 1961-2001
Reindeer herding Sámi men, in particular, were at a significantly higher risk of suicide between 1961-1980.
Reindeer herding and non-reindeer herding Sámi cohorts presented similar mortality rates when compared
to the reference population. This indicated significant differences between the Sámi and the overall
reference population. Hence the difference is not solely due to regional disparity (Hassler et al., 2005).
Northern Finland 1979-2005
Traditional Sámi nomadic lifestyles including reindeer breeding, hunting and gathering, ceased around the
1960s, with Sámi people’s health still being affected by the change. Although suicide occurred among
some Indigenous groups in the Arctic, it was rare, and the rate has increased in more recent years.
Between 1979-2005 suicide amongst Sámi men was 70% more common than the general population
(Soininen & Pukkola, 2008).
Youth and Culture
In Sweden, suicidality has been found to be more common among young adult Sámi (Omma, Sandlund
& Jacobsson, 2013), and reindeer herding Sámi (Kaiser & Salander Renberg, 2012), with strong themes
around suicide as a consequence for losing, or having lost Sámi identity, fighting for Sámi culture, and
difficulties in getting help as a Sámi person (Stoor, Kaiser, Jacobsson, Renberg & Silviken, 2015).
Risk Factors
The diversity of the Sámi populations and different contextual factors in different countries makes it hard
to provide a general overview of risk factors for suicide among Sámi. However, the Plan for Suicide
Prevention among Sámi in Norway, Sweden and Finland (Sámi Norwegian National Advisory Unit on
Mental Health and Substance Abuse & Saamicouncil, 2017) put forth eleven strategies for suicide
prevention including the need to protect and strengthen Sámi culture in order to strengthen resilience to
suicide, as well as prevent discrimination and violence against Sámi peoples. Similar to other Indigenous
groups, acculturation, a loss of culture and communities have attributed to higher suicide rates.
Russia experiences roughly 30 000 suicide deaths per year and around 10 times more attempt suicide.
Whilst Sámi people’s traditional lands are on the Kola peninsula in the Northwest of Russia, many other
Indigenous groups inhabit Russia. Sources from Indigenous groups across Russia suggest elevated
suicide rates may have connections to a lack of sense of Indigenous belonging, a lack of strengthened
cultural identity, and weakened resilience (Sumarokov, Brenn, Kudryavtsev & Nilssen, 2014).
20 | GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONPREFACE: Greenland attained self-governance in 2009, and while this makes it different to other countries in this project
the ongoing repercussions of historical colonisation reflects the same reality for Indigenous peoples in colonised countries.
Despite differences, Greenland is included in this paper due to the elevated suicide rates of Inuit Greenlanders.
BRIEF TIMELINE
KALAALLIT NUNAAT: GREENLAND
Greenland Inuit people make up
the majority of the Greenland Overview
population. The Inuit people of Greenland suffer some of the highest rates of suicide in the
world, with 82.8 suicide deaths per 100 000 people reported in 2015 (Hersher,
1720s: Modern colonisation of 2016). Of the 55 860 citizens of Greenland, 90% are Inuit, descendants of the
Greenland. The Danes used the Thule people and related to Inuit people in other polar regions (Bolliger & Gulis,
term ‘colony’ as synonymous with 2018). Albeit different from the relationships between coloniser and colonised
mission and trade station. regions in other countries, Greenland’s colonial history, and subsequent
sociocultural change has impacted significantly on suicide rates (Bjerregaard &
Community ownership of the land
Lynge, 2006).
was interpreted by the Danish as
‘no ownership’ or ‘crown land’.
Overall Rates
As a result, in 1850 mines were
established without permission Rates of suicide in men are 4.3 higher than women in Greenland, with young
from Inuit Greenlanders. men at the highest risk nationally (Hersher, 2016; Bjerregaard & Lynge, 2006).
1953: Colonial status of Greenland Risk Factors
formally ended. The biggest factor in changes in mental health and suicide rates in these time
periods was the change from subsistence fishing to a living based on wage-
Inuit Greenlanders were forced
earning. Relocation to larger communities, a change in family structure, and
to learn Danish and their native
discrimination between Inuit Greenland from remote areas and more urban-
language was taught as an
living peoples have contributed to higher suicide rates and mental health
elective.
concerns (Bjerregaard & Lynge, 2006).
Racial discrimination systematically
in place with Danish employees
paid higher wages. CANADA SVALBARD
(NORWAY)
2009: Greenland attained
self-government, however
the Inuit community still suffer QAANAAQ
(Thule)
from colonisation and a rapid Qaasuitsup
modernisation period. Greenland Kommunia National Park
has some of the highest suicide
rates in the world.
UPERNAVIK
(Peterson, 1995: Ringgaard, 2016)
ITTOQQORTOORMIIT
UUMMANNAQ
Kommuneqarfik
QEQERTARSUAQ ILULISSAT
Sermersooq
QASIGIANNGUT
KANGAATSIAQ
SISMIUT KANGERLUSSUAQ
ICELAND
Qeqqata
MANIITSOQ TASILAQ
kommunia
NUUK
KALAALLIT NUNAAT
PAAMIUT GREENLAND
NARSAQ
IVITTUUT
QAQORTOQ Kommune
NANORTALIK Kujalleq
Map 8: Kalaallit Nunaat/Greenland.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES | 21
CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONAPPENDICES
APPENDIX 1:
TA B L E : S U I C I D E D ATA F O R O V E R A L L P O P U L AT I O N S
AT L AT E S T AVA I L A B L E Y E A R
Suicide Data for Overall Populations at Latest Available Year
30
Number of Suicide deaths per 100 000 People
25
21.4 21.9
19.1
20
16.3 16.4
13.7
15 13.5
12.6
11.0 11.1
10
6.2 6.0 6.1 6.5
5.7
5
0
Australia (2017) Canada (2016) USA (2016) NZ/Aotearoa (2015) Northern Europe
/Sápmi (Mean Value)
Males Females Total
Table 10: Overall suicide rates here include the mainstream population and the Indigenous population. Australia
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018); Canada (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2016), USA (Center of Disease
Control and Prevention, 2017), NZ/Aotearoa (Stats New Zealand, 2017), Northern Europe/Sápmi (OECD, 2017).
22 | GLOBAL OVERVIEW: INDIGENOUS SUICIDE RATES
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CENTRE OF BEST PRACTICE IN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SUICIDE PREVENTIONYou can also read
