Chief of tragedy-stricken First Nation looking for help after state of crisis declaration

The chief of a northern Saskatchewan First Nation says they are in dire need of help after a string of suicides has rocked the community in recent months.

Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation at Loon Lake declared a state of crisis Thursday after a 10-year-old girl took her life earlier that day.

Chief Ronald Mitsuing said it’s the latest in a tragic trend that began three years ago.

“We had three (suicides) three weeks in a row,” Mitsuing said.

“We don’t even know how these came about. (The children) were acting normal — nothing wrong and then the next thing you, they’re gone.”

The band has experienced seven suicides since 2016.

A 14-year-old girl died on November 2. A 46-year-old man related to one of the previous victims died on Nov. 11.

Mitsuing said he just saw the 10-year-old at a funeral earlier this month.

“She was taking it hard at that time,” Mitsuing said. “We’re at a loss for words. We can’t explain it. She was in school yesterday.”

The band council met on Monday to come up with either temporary or long-term solutions to better address the issue. Another meeting was scheduled for next Wednesday, but was cancelled after Thursday’s state of crisis declaration.

“We didn’t even get our plans off the ground and then another suicide comes along,” Mitsuing said.

With the weekend fast approaching and concern rising, the band council is opening the hockey arena, the community hall and the school for people to gather with some activities planned.

The two therapists in Makwa Sahgaiehcan have been working around the clock, but Mitsuing feels more help is needed.

“Our people want to be able to help, but they’re not properly trained. They don’t know how to detect the signs or how to talk a person out of suicide — even our kids want to learn that,” Mistuing said, adding that Federation of Soveriegn Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Vice Chief David Pratt pledged sending support staff to First Nation.

In a statement issued Friday afternoon, the province announced help is on the way.

“The Saskatchewan Health Authority is prepared to offer mental health and addictions staff who are trained in suicide risk assessment, in particular any assessments for other children in the community to ensure they have the supports they need. The ministry of social services has offered to mobilize supports out of our community-based organizations in the area and will utilize if necessary.”

The province has also reached out to school divisions to see if any staff can be redeployed. The province, Makwa Sahgiehcan and the Meadow Lake Tribal Council will work together to help meet the needs of the community.

The FSIN issued a statement asking for government support of its suicide prevention strategy.

“The FSIN is working hard to ensure that our youth are supported and protected through this crisis and we want to thank all of the frontline workers, mental health staff and medical personnel for their efforts so far” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said. “The FSIN suicide prevention strategy was created to save the lives of our people and our children suffering within our nations. It needs to be implemented immediately and we are calling on all levels of government to ensure that it is.”

Mitsuing hopes whatever supports are provided temporarily won’t leave his community stranded in the future.

“When they all leave, I need them to leave something here that’s stable — not just leave,” he said.