Indigenous writing and the residential school experience

"This book offers and in-depth look at the crisis of Indigenous suicide in Canada. It compels us to rethink our definition of suicide and treatment methods, and re-examine the political and primary cause of Indigenous suicide. Written for those who are facing the challenge of unnecessary deaths, of themselves or of others around them, the authors strive to prevent such deaths and for the people involved to reach an understanding of what is really happening. This important book provides the framework of history of, research and theory on, and clear alternatives to Indigenous suicide." - Publisher

"Benjamin Chee Chee lived with anger and frustration for more than thirty years before he took his own life. An Ojibway artist who killed himself just as he was beginning to gain international recognition, Chee Chee is one of the thousands of aboriginal peoples in Canada who have commited suicide. Noted suicidologist and former RCMP officer Al Evans explores Chee Chee's wild, reckless, creative life to reveal how the clash between Native and White society has affected the suicide rate of young Native men and women, now among the highest in the world." - Publisher

"The book first describes the significant cultural changes experienced by Inuit since the Canadian government took over their lives in the 1950s. The government moved Inuit from their family camps to crowded settlements run by White government officers, took their children away to residential/boarding and day schools, and began a wage economy that created poverty. The greatest change took place in the Inuit family. This is a family-based collectivist culture, so when the family is dramatically changed everything will go wrong. Generations were segregated where family life meant being very close across generations, parenting changed, children became much more independent. The generation that was placed in the boarding and day schools developed problems with alcohol, domestic violence, and romantic relationships. Their children beginning in the 1980s started killing themselves. Suicide among youth has become an epidemic, with Inuit having among the highest suicide rates in the world. I trace suicide and other social problems to the imperialism/colonialism of the government. But then the book turns to how Inuit are preventing suicide by developing and running their own programs and activities. Government suicide prevention has not worked, but when Inuit are in control it does appear to work quite well. The actions by a group of youth in one community are detailed, showing how they organized themselves and started a youth center that seems to have stopped many suicides. The aspirations and challenges of Inuit youth are described, and their futures are outlined." - Publisher

"Journey to Healing is a comprehensive and practical evidence-based resource. It was written to help prepare students and professionals to provide counselling and social services to Aboriginal people with mental health and addiction issues in urban, rural and isolated settings." - Publisher

"In this vital and incisive work, bestselling and award-winning author Tanya Talaga explores the alarming rise of youth suicide in Indigenous communities in Canada and beyond." - Publisher

"Over the span of ten years, seven high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The seven were hundreds of miles away from their families, forced to leave their reserve because there was no high school there for them to attend. Award-winning journalist Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this northern city that has come to manifest, and struggle with, human rights violations past and present against aboriginal communities." - Publisher