Return to Suicide
by Michael J. Kral
Category: Psychology

"The book first describes the significant cultural changes experienced by Inuit since the Canadian government took over their lives in the 1950s. The government moved Inuit from their family camps to crowded settlements run by White government officers, took their children away to residential/boarding and day schools, and began a wage economy that created poverty. The greatest change took place in the Inuit family. This is a family-based collectivist culture, so when the family is dramatically changed everything will go wrong. Generations were segregated where family life meant being very close across generations, parenting changed, children became much more independent. The generation that was placed in the boarding and day schools developed problems with alcohol, domestic violence, and romantic relationships. Their children beginning in the 1980s started killing themselves. Suicide among youth has become an epidemic, with Inuit having among the highest suicide rates in the world. I trace suicide and other social problems to the imperialism/colonialism of the government. But then the book turns to how Inuit are preventing suicide by developing and running their own programs and activities. Government suicide prevention has not worked, but when Inuit are in control it does appear to work quite well. The actions by a group of youth in one community are detailed, showing how they organized themselves and started a youth center that seems to have stopped many suicides. The aspirations and challenges of Inuit youth are described, and their futures are outlined."--Provided by publisher.