Inupiat youth suicide and colonization: Lessons learned from Northwest Alaska

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Lisa M. Wexler, PhD, MSW, Community Health Education, Department of Public Health, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 313 Arnold House, 715 N. Pleasant St, Amherst, MA 01003-9304, (413)545-2248, lwexler@schoolph.umass.edu

The presentation will describe an action research project conducted with Inupiat people in Northwest Alaska. The research focused on youth suicide prevention, specifically engaging local people in discussing the associated issues and possibilities for prevention. The project resulted in both community actions and academic findings. The presentation will describe these with a particular focus on the connections made between colonization and suicide. Through increased awareness, participants should expand their understanding of colonization as a continuing dilemma that needs to be addressed in many Native communities as part of preventative, behavioral health initiatives.

Learning Objectives:

The learning objectives are

• Identify differences between the idea of colonization and the lived experience of colonization in Inupiat communities,
• Explore parallels for other Native communities,
• Highlight how these constructs can inadvertently contribute to suicide and other behavioral health risk, and
• Investigate how these ideas can inform prevention programming and community action.

Keywords: Suicide, Community Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation

The Legacy of Human Rights Violations: Implications for AI/AN/NH Health

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA