Indigenous boys need more support to prevent suicide, homicide: Manitoba children's advocate

The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth is demanding the province focus more resources on Indigenous boys to prevent more deaths by suicide and homicide.

For a new report released Thursday morning called Finding the Way Back, staff with the advocate's office researched and reviewed 45 cases involving boys between 12 and 17 years old who died by suicide or homicide between 2009 and 2018.

Of the 45 boys whose cases were reviewed, 37 were Indigenous — 35 were First Nations and two were Métis. About half of the boys lived in the Northern Regional Health Authority and about a third lived in Winnipeg.

"Preventing suicide and homicide of boys in Manitoba requires an understanding of the early life experiences through a socio-ecological model" — one that focuses on the connections between individuals, relationships, community and societal levels, the report says.

That includes understanding how colonization, intergenerational trauma and poverty affect youth, it says.

"Government and church processes stole our children from us," Ed Azure, one of five elders who reviewed the report before it was published, said at a news conference Thursday, where the report was officially released.

"We're still trying to overcome the residue of that time."

Azure, an elder from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, is also quoted in the report, saying "our trick is to find our way back to the Creator, to the source."

Intergenerational trauma, colonization play role

The report looks at experiences that were common among the 45 boys, including caregiver abuse, poverty, parents who had substance use disorders, gang involvement and poor school attendance.

It says 69 per cent of the boys were in Child and Family Services care at one point, 76 per cent had "problematic substance use" and about half were hospitalized for a mental health concern.

"The ongoing oppression through colonial structures continues to impact the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples," acting children's and youth advocate Ainsley Krone said during Thursday's news conference.

"This has resulted in complex and layered experiences of marginalization and loss that contribute to an increased risk of harm for First Nations, Inuit and Métis boys in Manitoba, including their risk of death by suicide and homicide."

In the report, Krone makes four recommendations for provincial departments to address that risk:

• Implementing evidence-based and culturally safe interventions for parents who use substances to reduce the number of Child and Family Services apprehensions.
• Working on an Indigenous inclusion strategy in schools while also including culturally appropriate activities for Indigenous boys to try to close the achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous boys.
• Urging the department of education to develop anti-racist education generally, and anti-Indigenous racism education specifically, for all members of the school systems.
• Consulting communities to update and fund a provincial youth gang prevention strategy

The report also repeats a 2018 recommendation that called on the Department of Health, along with front-line service providers and others, to immediately address the lack of substance use treatments for young people and creating a youth addiction strategy.

More focus is needed on helping Indigenous boys, and specifically First Nations boys, succeed, the report says. It points to graduation gaps, not only between Indigenous boys and non-Indigenous boys, but between Indigenous boys and Indigenous girls as well.

"Despite the dire need for understanding these important and prevalent issues, focused examinations of the lived experiences of boys, particularly First Nations boys, are rare," the report says.

"Understanding the unique experiences of boys would allow public bodies to design programs and strategies that are better suited to addressing their unique needs and work towards preventing violent deaths."

A spokesperson said the province has created a committee with different departments to review the report.

Social pressures

The report also details social pressures young Indigenous boys face.

The advocate's office spoke with young men from its Youth Ambassador Advisor Squad (YAAS), who said boys are told not to cry in Western society.

However, "it was noted that Indigenous teachings encourage boys to express themselves in these more honest ways," the report states.

"Suppressed emotions risk manifesting into externalized behaviours, resulting in teenage boys who may engage in self-harm and who, in turn, may use substances or engage in violence and criminal involvement as a way of expressing or releasing emotion."

As part of the report, two young First Nations men from YAAS created a music video. Michael Breland from Fox Lake Cree Nation and Trevor Merasty from Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation both wrote about their experiences in Manitoba's Child and Family Services system.

"I don't know who I am," Breland said in an interview with CBC Thursday.

"I never really found a solid answer because I've always been labelled throughout CFS," he said. 

"But with the music and the report and all that reflectiveness — and knowing that our lives aren't unique, we all struggle — that's something that inspired me to help find myself."

The lyrics he and Merasty wrote detail experiences with racism, as well as their reactions to intergenerational trauma, including the discovery of unmarked graves at several residential schools across Canada.

"But I don't understand how you could make me stand [for the Canadian anthem], when the bodies found are the evidence of Canada's original plan," raps Breland.

The lyrics also reference the toppling of statues at the Manitoba legislature grounds last July 1, at the end of an Every Child Matters walk, held to remember Indigenous children who died at residential schools.

"Now we gotta topple the queen so our people can see their dreams. Finally free at last, we can cast it into the past. Pass it to the future. The little ones, free at last."

Merasty hopes government takes a good look at the report.

"I've got real high hopes," he said.

"We're basically holding our hand out to see if they're gonna take it to help bring us up. Because for so long, we were down. Now we're just trying to stand together so we can rise together."

If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, there is help out there. Contact the Manitoba Suicide Prevention and Support Line toll-free at 1-877-435-7170 (1-877-HELP170) or the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868. You can also text CONNECT to 686868 and get immediate support from a crisis responder through the Crisis Text Line, powered by Kids Help Phone.

Or contact Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. CT only) | crisisservicescanada.ca