High Suicide Rate of Alaska’s Indigenous People

According to an online report by BAZ, the suicide rate among Alaska Natives, who represent 18% of Alaska’s population, is 42 per 100,000 people. The overall suicide rate in Alaska is said to be 17 per 100,000 people. According to Wikipedia, the highest national suicide rate is in Belarus, at 35 per 100,000.

Therefore, a rate of 42 seems alarmingly high. The article reported that Alaska Natives should develop strategies to identify those at risk of suicide early on, in order to prevent the worst from happening. They also mentioned that social networks such as Facebook could help with this. The article also stated that depression was the main reason for the high suicide rate.

The Blind Spot

Like many conquered peoples, the indigenous peoples of Alaska had their livelihoods destroyed and at the same time were socially marginalised, making it difficult for them to integrate into the new society (similar to the Roma of Eastern Europe).

The complicity in this misery is suppressed and ignored by the whites, which is not conducive to integration into the new white society of the conquerors.

Despite this, maybe presidential candidate Sarah Palin raves about her picture-book Alaska at http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/sarah-palin-alaska/.

Unsurprisingly, there is of course no room there for the problems of the indigenous population.