The Argus Leader in Sioux Falls has published a terrific public-service examination of rising suicide rates among the Sicangu Lakota people, on the Rosebud Reservation in south-central South Dakota. The three-day series ended yesterday."Since 2005, at least 28 tribal members -- most of them teens and 20-somethings -- have killed themselves by hanging, overdosing on drugs or slashing their wrists,'' the paper says in part one, published Sunday. "Sports stars and student scholars are among them. So are the broken spirits born of alcoholic and impoverished homes."
Last year alone, the paper says, "the reservation's suicide rate soared to 141 per 100,000 people -- and a staggering 201 per 100,000 for males ages 15 to 24, what some experts call among the highest incidence in the world. That's well above the national average: 11 to 12 per 100,000. "It is an epidemic," said tribal President Rodney Bordeaux, whose tribal council declared a state of emergency because of the suicides. "The professionals tell us this kind of thing is cyclical. But we're going on three years now. We want it to stop."
Multimedia: video, photo galleries
The paper publishes video (above) by reporter Steve Young, who interviews a mother of a suicide victim, plus young people who survived suicide attempts. That's a great addition on a subject as emotional as suicide -- and quite an accomplishment.
Historically, suicide rates have been highest in the Mountain States -- a fact that often surprises outsiders who think of the area as too peaceful to bring about such a sad end to life. I wrote about suicide in a project, too -- at the Idaho Statesman in Boise, so I appreciate the Argus Leader's multimedia, something we didn't have back then.
Facts on figures
The paper correctly describes suicide rates -- rather than numbers of suicide, an important distinction when comparing data across population groups. Rates are typically expressed in a number per 100,000. I've often seen much bigger media get that wrong. For example, they'll report that last year's murder rate rose to 57 from 43 in 2006. They mean the number of cases rose to 57 from 43.
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[Image: yesterday's front page led with the final installment in the suicide series, Newseum]
Nice work by Sioux Falls. But do they cover suicides day to day, as they happen?
ReplyDeleteWe did a story on suicide not long ago. Not a project. Just a story timed to go with the national suicide awareness week.
In it, advocates said people must get over the stigma of suicide and be comfortable talking about suicide in order to prevent it.
Yet we don't cover them, perhaps clinging to the old notion that writing about suicides encourages people to kill themselves.
So much for community service.
It took balls to do a 12 and a half minute report. I hope a lot of people watch it. Corporate has been telling us not to exceed 90 seconds for the last year or so. They also told us to avoid doing voiceovers.
ReplyDeleteGreat work.
ReplyDeleteSteve Young is a great talent.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work, as usual ...
This is a nice video. I am from the Rosebud Reservation, I have a teenager who attempted suicide, and for the longest time, I blamed myself for her actions. I sat down with her and asked her why she did not think life was valuable to her. She told me that part of her reason was because when the teenager is at the age where they will graduate and start going out into the adult world, there is alot of pressure put on them, and it is scary to think about having to grow up, especially around the reservation, where there are no jobs,alcoholism is rampant and drug use starts at a very young age. She also went through tribal programs like A.A., outpatient treatment, inpatient treatment, all which were court order, when she completed everything, there was no one there at the end to keep talking to her, no counselor/patient follow up. She said it was like since she completed all these programs, everyone stopped caring. We both went to counseling, which helped us alot. She is now working, trying hard to stay sober, it is a day to day struggle, but what she went through, is still going through, I have let her know that I am very proud of her strength, I think the tribe needs teenagers like her to speak about the experiences so they can better help others and understand that more counseling is still need even when their programs are completed.
ReplyDelete