Indigenous leaders rally for help to end suicide crisis

REGINA Indigenous leaders from across Saskatchewan are crying out for governments to help their communities deal with what they are calling a suicide pandemic.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in the province, hosted several chiefs at a news conference Tuesday near a teepee erected on the lawn across from the legislature to draw attention to the suicide problem.

The provincial government is seeking a court order to have organizer Tristen Durocher and his supporters removed from the site.

Durocher set up his teepee after walking more than 600 kilometres to Regina from northern Saskatchewan to call for legislative changes to address suicide.

Officials have said there is no overnight camping allowed in the park. A hearing is set for Thursday.

The province announced a strategy in May to tackle its suicide rate. It said each year about 144 people in the province kill themselves, and that suicide is the leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 49 in northern Saskatchewan.

The faces of dozens of people who have died by suicide are displayed around Durocher’s teepee.

Many of the chiefs voiced support for Durocher’s cause.

Chief Louie Mercredi of the Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation said his remote northern reserve is home to 900 members. He and many people have lost loved ones to suicide, he said.

“This is normal for us, ” he said as community members surrounded him, holding up pictures of people who have died. “We need help.”