Byron Dorgan

The Hard Lives — and High Suicide Rate — of Native American Children on Reservations

[T]he silence that has shrouded suicide in Indian country is being pierced by growing alarm at the sheer number of young Native Americans taking their own lives — more than three times the national average, and up to 10 times on some reservations.

Washington Post article screen shotRead the full article at the Washington Post website.

Read the statement from the National Indian Child Welfare Association clarifying the child maltreatment statistics included in this article.

Interview: Sen. Dorgan on Native Youth, Sequestration, and the Dysfunctional Congress

I’m really pleased with what [the Center for Native American Youth has] done so far. We’ve created a start-up non-profit from scratch. In 2 ½ years, I think we’ve done some significant things. We’re focusing on the well-being of Native American youth; we’re working on teen suicide prevention; and education opportunities—a series of issues. We’re also doing youth summits on Indian reservations, working with tribal officials, and parents and children. We created a program called “Champions for Change” in which we’re seeking and finding some extraordinary young people on reservations across the country who have been nominated by their tribes. We have been able to celebrate their successes and create mentors back home for others on their reservations. I’m really, really pleased with what we’ve been doing.

Indian Country Today Media Network logoRead the full interview at the Indian Country Today Media Network website.