What is going on with all these suicide emergencies?

Once again, a native community finds itself in the midst of a suicide emergency. This time, the Attawapiskat of Northern Ontario called a state of emergency when 11 people attempted suicide in one night. 

Less than a month ago, we told you about a similar situation in Manitoba and in South Dakota. So, what is going on? Why are reservations at such a high risk for these types of emergencies? 

When the Portland Art Museum decided to feature an exhibit on Edward Curtis and his Native photography, they didn't want to make it simply a historical show. The show, which runs through May 8th, features three prominent Native Artists, Red Star (Apsa’alooke), Jackson (Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara) and Wilson (Diné), interspersed among the historical Curtis photographs.

“Our visitorship is largely clueless about contemporary Native American life and thinks that the body of Curtis’ work is the end-all be-all representation of Indians,” Dartt says.

Here's what you missed this week:

Professional speaker, boxer, and former rugby player, Joe Williams arrived in the US this week to start his speaking tour addressing mental health issues among Native Americans. Williams is Wiradjuri, the native tribe of central New South Wales, Australia, and hopes that his story, including daily battle with suicidal thoughts, will open up more dialogue and being the healing process among the Native communities. Because Australian aboriginals faced many of the same issues as Native Americans, both groups are more susceptible to suicide than the general public.

"As much as a lot of people say that Americans are ahead of us, in this field in particular, speaking about 'living the experience', we're miles ahead of them," Mr Williams said. "At this minute, they don't have a lot of people who speak about their lived experience in depth."

For the last few days, news feed have been inundated with stories of Lexi Page, the little girl who was taken from her foster parents home after 4 years to be returned to her Choctaw family. Stories from the foster parents are everywhere, many claiming she's being moved because she's native, but there are far fewer stories explaining the Native side.

As with everything, it's always best to know both sides of the story before making a decision.