Mushkegowuk releases People’s Inquiry into Our Suicide Pandemic report

Suicide is a difficult topic to discuss. It’s painful. Sometimes it’s probably much easier to pretend it doesn’t happen. Sometimes we respond by recognizing that we can do things better, differently. But then we move on. We don’t forget, but we’re uncomfortable with really facing it head on. We’re scared we’ll make it worse. Suicide rates amongst some First Nations in Northern Ontario is 50 times the Canadian average for children under 15 years old.

We’re a photography company. We do some video and some design as well. The thread that connects all of that is our shared love of stories. We are story tellers. And we do what we do because we believe it’s important for people to see, learn and share what they know. Last week, we spent two days in Thunder Bay photographing a Nishnawbe Aski Nation Special Chiefs Assembly. And we were honoured to bear witness.

Nobody Wants to Die. They Want to Stop the Pain: The People’s Inquiry into Our Suicide Pandemic report released by Mushkegowuk Tribal, Jan. 20 during the Assembly.

Blue Earth Photography had an opportunity to sit down with the Inquiry’s lead commissioner Mike Metatawabin, a member of Fort Albany First Nation.

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Give an overview about how the People’s Commission came about.

This goes back a few years within the Mushkegowuk region. There was a very high rate of suicides happening in the communities. A high number of people were ending their own lives. So Mushkegowuk Chiefs declared a state of emergency around 2010 I believe.

How was the Inquiry born out of that?

From a declaration that was made a couple of years after. They wanted answers. Trying to figure out what are we going to do about it? And that’s how the Commission came to be. They tried to tap into resources provided by Governments but those didn’t work out. So Mushkegowuk took it upon themselves to pull together funds from various sources, including donations from private companies. The funds allowed a commission to be established. And the Commission was given a mandate to go into communities. We had a Youth, an Elder and another adult, a coordinator and myself formed the Commission body. The five of us travelled to each of the Mushkegowuk communities.

How many people did you hear from?

Two-hundred and eighty-three people attended the Commission hearings and we heard seventy-seven stories. Given the size of our communities and the subject matter, a lot of people came forward to share their stories._J6A8111-Edit

What did you learn?

In total, we identified 16 issues. The list includes, Indian Residential Schools, sexual abuse (which is something that’s happening in the communities), there’s a lot of substance abuse (moreso with prescription drugs but also with gas sniffing) and parental skills are lacking. There are too many children being neglected as a result of the lack of parenting skills. There is also an issue with identity and culture. Today we live in communities where religion dominates, so there was a sense of lacking identity and culture. And then lateral violence was also identified. And that’s an issue that most people are not aware exists or not aware of what it is. So it’s become too normalized. It’s something that needs to be addressed. Also communication was an issue. Just basic communication about issues from leaderships to community members and within families. Lack of activities and programs and infrastructure. Bullying is also a big issue, including cyber-bullying. It’s been identified as a very toxic issue. Mental Health awareness is also lacking. People are asking for public education amongst communities. There are a lot of issues that came out. The one that stands out in my mind is in Fort Albany and Moose Factory, they were the first communities to have Hudson’s Bay establish trading posts back in the 1600s, 1670s, so from that an intergenerational trauma emerged. It became a cycle for a family. And also two-spirited people want more public awareness about who they are as a community. Family violence is also another big issue. There’s too much. Too often. Families need to understand what family violence is. They need to learn. Housing was also another big factor along with education and health – these are ongoing issues for every community. Overcrowded housing and or a lack of education or health issues such as misdiagnosis’ or a lack of adequate care were identified as some issues. Unresolved grief that stems from a lot of the issues that were identified like losing loved ones, traumas suffered at residential schools, the radar sites, a whole number of issues.

And what’s happening is communities are constantly losing people or something happens, nobody ever has time to grieve or come to terms with a traumatic event. The issues are being compounded, being stacked on top of each other. We need to somehow find a way for people to grieve.

What are the next steps?

The way we looked at this was, when we were in Attawapiskat doing the hearings, and when we were close to wrapping up, one of the council members stood up and said ‘it’s good we can come together like this. We don’t’ do this enough. The only time it happens is when somebody else comes in and makes it happen.’ And then he said, ‘these commissioners are leaving today, what are we going to do about it? Are we just going to forget this happened today? And then that’s it?’ That stuck out for me. So when we were finalizing the report and putting together the recommendations, we knew we had to make this report interactive. We can’t just hand over this report and say ‘that’s it.’ It’s designed to give back to the community, it’s in their hands. They decide what they’re going to do. The report lays out a plan. The communities are given ways to respond to the commission’s finding or how they can implement the recommendations and it’s also meant to help individuals so they can learn how they’re impacted by the issues and how they can get involved.

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The full report, as well as additional reading, can be found at peoplesinquiry.com

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