Suicide
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez traveled to the nation's largest AmericanIndian reservation on Thursday to sign a bill aimed at preventing youth suicides, a problem that has plagued communities across Indian Country.
The legislation signed in the Navajo community of Shiprock will establish a framework for creating a statewide clearinghouse for suicide prevention and culturally-based prevention initiatives.
POPLAR, Montana (AP) — Chelle Rose Follette fashioned a noose with her pajamas, tying one end to a closet rod and the other around her neck. When her mother entered the bedroom to put away laundry, she found the 13-year-old hanging.
Ida Follette screamed for her husband, Darrell.
He lifted his child's body, rushed her to the bed and tried to bring her back.
"She was so light, she was so light. And I put her down. I said, 'No, Chelle!'"
WASHINGTON (AP) — Young Native Americans commit suicide at a rate more than three times the national average. Now a private program has been created to focus on improving the lives of young Indians.
The Washington-based Center for Native American Youth is a new initiative of the Aspen Institute, a think tank based in Washington and Colorado.
