Rethinking Indigenous Suicide

Abstract

Suicide is one of the most significant issues facing Indigenous communities throughout Canada. The rate of Indigenous deaths by suicide is severely disproportionate to that of the general public. While the last three decades have seen substantial investments in suicidology research within the Canadian context, rates of Indigenous deaths by suicide have remained relatively stable, and little remains known about effective means to reduce Indigenous deaths by suicide. A movement of critical suicidology scholars across health and social sciences is beginning to challenge the mainstream approach of suicidology research and suicide prevention, citing concerns about the ideological and epistemic foundations. In this article, the author highlights how these critiques are relevant to Indigenous contexts. Challenging a range of assumptions, the author considers the need to rethink the ideological foundations of research on Indigenous suicide. Finally, the author considers two methodological projects that are integral to forming a critical approach to Indigenous suicidology research and Indigenous suicide prevention praxis–culturally grounded research and decolonizing research.