Abstract

Indigenous suicide (particularly amongst youths) in Canada is an exceedingly complex and harrowing phenomenon. The First Nations suicide rate is three times higher than the non-Indigenous national average and the Inuit suicide rate is nine times the national rate. However, excessive suicidality is by no means a commonality amongst every Indigenous community, as the majority of bands have well below the national average, with significant amount having zero suicides. Thus, it is select bands that have epidemic level rates of suicide to the point that it spikes the Indigenous national averages. This has bred both a very unique and urgent set of circumstances. Circumstances that are undoubtedly impelled by the legacy of colonial policies compounded with neo-colonic socio-economic conditions Canada’s Indigenous populations find themselves within. This has led to many researchers from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and methodological approaches to try and contend with. It is therefore the goal of this thesis to present, evaluate, and synthesize the leading research on Indigenous suicide in Canada. Namely, cultural continuity (Chandler & Lalonde), suicide clusters & communication (Niezen), historicity of suicide & institutional control (Kral), mixed-methods prevention oriented approaches (Kirmayer), and Indigenous perspectives on neo-colonialism and its impacts on Indigenous identity and suicide (Talaga). All with the intent to inform further researchers, advocates, and policy makers with the best ways to understand and hopefully prevent this phenomenon.