(file photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Youth suicides

Traditional healing effective in combatting youth suicides

Mar 11, 2019 | 7:01 AM

The issue of youth suicide continues to be a challenge, but a spokesperson for a northern Saskatchewan health agency says the use of traditional healing techniques is showing some positive results.

Glenda Watson is the Mental Health and Addictions Advisor for the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority. She said one of the emerging initiatives being implemented by their member communities to address addictions and mental health related problems, was the use of land based healing.

“Because not every modality or treatment is going work the same for every individual, they are trying to bring a different array of modalities to the communnities,” she told paNOW.

Land based healing involves the use of traditional medicines and cultural practices. Watson said a series of deaths years ago in La Loche, associated with suicides, was the driving force behind a number of indigenous communities taking pro-active approaches. She said youth in northern Saskatchewan faced the same pressures as other youth in the province, including cyber – bullying, but also faced some unique pressures as well.

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“When you are in the North it’s a little bit more isolated, so you have to deal with that element as well when you throw risk factors in there,” she said, adding there are also pressures related to gang activities.

Watson said Montreal Lake Cree Nations is one example of a community which has been proactive in addressing the issue. She added she was also very excited to see the recent announcement surrounding a wellness centre in La Ronge.

Unfortunately the only way for Watson to get feedback on the work they are doing is through word of mouth by the community leaders. Unlike the Saskatchewan Heath Authority, NITHA does not have a database in place to track the trends. Watson explained that while having such a database would assist the communities, getting one in place could be a challenging process.

“Data collection systems are quite in-depth and trying to find the right one for all the communities is something that is going to take some time,” she said.

The Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority serves 33 communities in Northern Saskatchewan, and involves a partnership between Prince Albert Grand Council, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Meadow Lake Tribal Council, and Lac La Ronge Indian Band

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell