Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - 'A very serious problem'

'A very serious problem'

May 02, 2005 - 23:16:11 CDT

By TONY SPILDE, Bismarck Tribune

Some things -- like heaven or a glimmer of hope -- have to be believed to be seen.

If you believe, for instance, there is a serious problem somewhere, then maybe you will see it clearly for the first time.

That is the hope of many on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation and other reservations across the country, where suicide continues to claim the lives of young people at alarming rates.

At a special Bismarck field hearing of the Senate's Indian Affairs c ommittee on Monday, many experts and others testified that too little attention has been paid to the problem of suicides among American Indian teens.

If you have to see to believe, look at this:

Troy Shoe String.

Anne Marie Loans Arrow.

Misty Dawn Agard.

And more. And more.

And more.

These are three names on a list of suicides from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation that continues to grow at a pace far quicker than the national average, especially among teenagers. The trend has been apparent for years, experts said Monday, and looking the other way has done no good.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chaired the Monday hearing. He held it in Bismarck to specifically address the recent suicides and attempted suicides at Standing Rock, and said it's time to seriously look at the issue.

"I suspect everyone in this room would prefer we not talk about (suicide)," Dorgan said Monday in the Brynhild Haugland room at the State Capitol. "I'm shocked by some of these statistics one reads. It is a very serious problem. I'm no longer comfortable being quiet about it."

According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 10 Standing Rock teens took their own lives last year, and dozens more attempted suicide.

Numbers provided by the Indian Health Service show the suicide rate among American Indian teens in the Great Plains is 10 times higher than the national average.

"It breaks your heart to see what is happening in some of these areas," Dorgan said. "We need to develop a different approach. ... We've been using that strategy (of ignoring the problem) for a number of years, and it has resulted in no progress. We still have children taking their own lives. As sensitive as this is, we need to discuss it openly and develop new strategies."

Those strategies include identifying the causes of the problem, and providing resources to combat it. Resources could include more social workers and treatment options, said Dr. Charles Grim, director of the Indian Health Service. Grim said suicide on the reservation is the result of many problems.

"It's not just depression or substance abuse, but the effect of the whole community (environment)," Grim said.

Grim said research into suicide in Indian Country is limited. What information there is shows American Indians who attempt suicide do so more impulsively and at a younger age than in other demographics.

But part of that could be just a lack of professionals around to help. Ulonda Shamwell, of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, said more than half of Indian teens who attempt suicide or commit suicide never have been seen by a mental-health professional. Dorgan said the government spends twice as much money per capita on mental-health care for federal prisoners as it does for American Indians.

Paul Dauphinais, psychologist for Turtle Mountain Schools, testified Monday that 90 percent of Indian teens who take their own lives suffer from diagnosable mental illnesses. About two-thirds of them develop the illness at least a year prior to their suicide attempt, Dauphinais said.

Among those who provided testimony Monday were three students at Standing Rock Community School. Michelle Fast Horse, VaQuita Hines and Alayna Eagle Shield each said they have known someone at their school who has killed himself or herself.

"I've lived everywhere -- I'm an Army 'brat,'" Hines, a junior, said. "But I hadn't been exposed to suicide until I moved to Standing Rock."

Hines said stress and a high rate of underage drinking on the reservation could be contributing factors to the suicides there. She said parents need to be as involved as possible in their children's lives, and the youth need to get more involved in healthy activities.

Fast Horse, a senior, agreed that substance abuse was a problem on the reservation, and said she had a friend who committed suicide while under the influence. She said there need to be places where young people can hang out -- like arcades, gyms or skate parks.

Eagle Shield, a freshman, said there needs to be more well-rounded support in the community. People should gather for celebrations more often, she said, and cultural values need to be rekindled.

Other problems identified included poverty, physical or emotional abuse at home and breaking up with boyfriends or girlfriends. The girls said there are not enough trained personnel around with whom students feel comfortable talking about their feelings.

A follow-up hearing on the topic will be held June 15 in Washington, D.C. Grim and Shamwell agreed to provide more information to the full committee on treatment options and intervention committees.

Dorgan, who is vice chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, accepted the students' invitation to go to Fort Yates and listen to the concerns of the full student body.

(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tspilde@ndonline.com.)

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Comments

Shannalii wrote on Jun 2, 2008 12:22 PM:

" is this a true story?? cause if it is thats scary i used to live in the palace arms hotel. well i only lived there for like a month and a half. but i was in grade 4, now im in grade 10. me and the other kids that lived there always wondered why no one was allowed on the 7th floor. my mom and my stepdad used to work there too. so did these other people and they got sent to jail because they started a meth-lab up there. but one day the power went out in the whole hotel. i lost my dads ring there in suite 419. i had a lot of fun in that hotel though...i just didnt know it was haunted. "

peewee herman wrote on Apr 10, 2008 2:02 PM:

" hi "

PC of Mandan wrote on Dec 11, 2006 10:41 AM:

" Thank you for such a intelligently written report on Senator Dorgan. It's too bad most candidates feel they have to mud sling their apponants to get their ideas across. I would, just once, like to listen to someone talk about the issues, and not bad mouth the other person. I think, this is why Senator Dorgan has been reelected through the years. He talks about the issues and asks questions to get more information on what the people are thinking. "

Online Editor wrote on Nov 8, 2006 1:57 PM:

" To I Know Everything: Each comment is read by the Editor or the Online Editor before it is posted. Your first comment won't be posted because it is potentially libelous. "

i know everything wrote on Nov 8, 2006 1:54 PM:

" umm.... where is my comment? "

GG wrote on Oct 7, 2006 10:00 PM:

" LEGALIZE MARIJUANA. The war on drugs is a waste of tax payers money. People should have the right to decide what goes into their bodies and what doesn't. The government shouldn't own you, correct? "

Quite confused wrote on Aug 10, 2006 10:22 PM:

" I thought this was a football story. "

just me wrote on Aug 5, 2006 2:29 PM:

" What do any of these comments have to do with placing the people who should not be in society in commitments to a state hospital? Why should they have a right to a chance at life when they took any kind of DECENT life of not looking over your shoulder from their victims? Why should they have 3 squares a day and a roof over their head either? I say put them all out on a little island and let them have at eachother for their own sick way or pleasure. Why put the rest of society in jeapordy of their sick ways? All these children who had their INNOCENTS STOLEN, they can never get that back. Why do the offenders have a chance to get theirs back? "

Brenda Coin wrote on Jul 12, 2006 9:51 PM:

" Hello, I am a North Dakota native who currently resides in Missouri. I came here to pursue music. I remember the days of the oil boom in and around Dickinson, ND back in the late 70's and early 80's. My dad is still residing in ND and they recently drilled on his land. I was wondering how I could find out specific info. on what was found after drilling this time. They drilled back in 1983 and it was a dry hole and they found oil this time but I haven't heard any details as to what the results are. How would I get that information? "

Dorothy Hendrickson Tenney wrote on Jul 6, 2006 1:58 PM:

" I had many picnics at the Cave Hills when I was a child and teenager, and don't remember seeing many pictographs or other Indian paintings, so when initials were carved out, we didn't think of it as "Grafitti", just saying we were there. I wish I had known the history of the Hills while I was there, it would have made it even more special. I will always remember the coolness of the valleys and the good spring water. It was our "backyard". "

D. Anderson wrote on Jul 3, 2006 8:00 PM:

" Today's graffiti is the rock art of the future. Look at Pompey's Pillar, where a traveling white man left his mark back in 1806. There is a big celebration planned for Aug. 25 this year to observe 200-year-old graffiti. As an aside, consider the Medicine Rocks State Park near Ekalaka: acres of sandstone covered with inscriptions, yet none call it graffiti. Once you consider a rock to be sacred, you become guilty of idolitry. "

Glenn Andersen wrote on May 2, 2006 12:41 PM:

" Is it just me, but it seems that a lot of foreign companies are crucial to so many of the renewable energy projects going forward in this country. I am not complaining, only wondering why companies based in this country are not leading the way in this industry. "

kim miner at kim77miner77@yahoo.com wrote on Apr 8, 2006 6:52 PM:

" can u help me . please!. I have anceint.rock art/petroghyphic. who or were do I go so I may show this to them. u can contact me. e-mail address is kim77miner77@yahoo.com. or (209)496-8233. (408) 295-7930. I thank you so very much. for any help!. if not thank anyways. Thank you for your time kim miner. "

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