Reserve waits for aid on suicide crisis
CROSS LAKE, MAN .• The federal government says it is doing everything it can to help a northern Manitoba reserve that has 100 children on a suicide watch.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett and Health Minister Jane Philpott said Thursday that the issue goes beyond the Pimicikamak Cree Nation, known as Cross Lake, and they are determined to address the underlying reasons why so many indigenous people are taking their own lives.
The reserve declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as it grapples with a suicide crisis that has seen six people take their own lives in the past two months and 140 others either attempt or threaten to kill themselves in the past two weeks.
“Cross Lake is not alone,” Bennett said in Ottawa on Thursday. “This is happening coast to coast to coast and we need to stop it.”
The reserve is asking for at least six mental- health workers and round-the-clock counsellors in the short term. With 80 per cent of its people out of work, it also needs job opportunities, a hospital and recreational facilities for young people, said Acting Chief Shirley Robinson.
Philpott said Ottawa has boosted the number of health professionals available to Cross Lake and is looking at bolstering support for children when they are out of school for March break.
Robinson said church groups, counsellors and concerned citizens have also offered to help the grief-stricken community 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg. “That means a lot to us,” she said. “It touches the community.”
A provincial mentalhealth team has yet to arrive, and the reserve is just trying to hold on until help is on site, Robinson said, The nursing station is staffed by just two people overnight, when most of the calls for help come through.
“Once I see action happening, it sort of brings down the worries that we have,” said Robinson, whose cousin was the latest person to commit suicide. “But it’s something that we’re not going to stop worrying about.”
Manitoba Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Robinson, who is from Pimicikamak Cree Nation, said the province is working with Ottawa and is waiting for a formal letter from the reserve. He also said he’s planning a trip to Cross Lake in the coming days.
Band councillor Donnie McKay, who spent part of Wednesday intervening in a suicide attempt, said help was needed weeks ago.
“They know this is happening. We made t hem aware of it. Why do they want a letter first?” he asked.