Alarming report on First Nation youth deaths

‘These are children. They are children of families, children of communities.’

Coast Salish elder Greg Sam, right, joins Paul Sam, a First Nations health representative for the Coast Salish, at the legislature on Wednesday after the release of a report titled A Review of First Nation and Youth and Young Adult Injury Deaths 2010-2015. The report found that Indigenous youth in B.C. died at almost twice the rate of non-Aboriginal youth over the six years.

Indigenous youth in B.C. are dying at almost twice the rate of non-Aboriginal youth, says a new report on unexpected deaths.

And the area covered by Island Health had the highest number of suicides and the second highest death rate in the province.

“We want to be clear these are not statistics,” said Shannon McDonald, deputy chief medical health officer of the First Nations Health Authority, at a news conference at the B.C. legislature.

“These are children. They are children of families, children of communities.”

The review was conducted by the First Nations Health Authority and the B.C. Coroners Service and covers the deaths of 95 Indigenous youth ages 15 to 24 between January 2010 and December 2015. It does not include the opioid overdose crisis that has emerged since 2016 and has disproportionately affected First Nations.

“Although the reasons First Nations youth and young adults die are similar to their non-First Nations peers, there are continuing disparities in injury and mortality rates for First Nations young people,” the report says.

It found the accidental death rate for Indigenous youth in B.C. during the review period was 1.9 times higher than non-Indigenous youth based on census data from causes identified as accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined.

Accidental deaths in motor vehicle crashes, drownings and overdoses accounted for 60 per cent of Indigenous youth deaths, while suicide was responsible for 32 per cent of the deaths.

Almost 25 per cent of the Indigenous youth who died were parents of young children, the report says.

Paul Sam, a First Nations Health Authority representative for the Coast Salish people, said the deaths — especially those by suicide — are a “painful” and deeply felt loss.

In all, there were 30 suicides among Indigenous youth, including 12 in the region covered by Island Health — the highest among the health authorities. The report notes that the region has a larger population of First Nations youth and young adults than many other parts of the province.

The Island region also had one of the highest rates of death among First Nations youth. McDonald said harsher physical environments in rural and remote areas and inclement weather are all factors in the higher Island numbers.

First Nations deaths were higher in remote small population areas and on First Nations reserves.

“The differential is significant and worrying,” McDonald said.

Several First Nations communities in B.C. are accessible only by boat, barge or float plane, the review says. This is the case for many remote areas in northern Vancouver Island.

McDonald said Island Health is doing a good job of providing increased services for youth in remote areas, but that there are opportunities for all stakeholders to do more.

Recommendations in the report are focused on four areas: • Promoting connectedness to peers, family, community and culture. • Reducing barriers and increasing access to services. • Promoting cultural safety, humility and trauma-informed care within organizations. • Eliciting feedback through community engagement.

Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said the findings allow for recommendations to prevent future deaths in similar circumstances.

The recommendations are directed to the Ministry of Children and Family Development, First Nations education steering committee, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, and the FNHA.

Each organization named in the report has 90 days to respond with an action plan.

Many youth and young adults whose deaths are included in the report encountered barriers in their dealings with schools, government ministries, healthcare institutions, community programs and services.

“These represent missed opportunities to support these young First Nations people,” McDonald said.

“They could have had a positive impact on their lives.”