Understanding Youth Suicide from the Voice of Youth in Northern Saskatchewan

There is very little research asking youth in Canada about suicide in spite of the rates of suicide for Indigenous youth in Saskatchewan being extremely high over the past five years. This gap in research highlights the need to understand youth suicide from the experiences and voice of youth. The Advocate for Children and Youth office in Saskatchewan conducted a qualitative study in northern Saskatchewan to obtain youth voice on suicide. The purpose of this study was to answer the following questions: To understand youth experiences with suicide; to obtain youth voice in this area and to understand it from their view; and, to gain a youth centered understanding on their needs to address it. This study incorporated a qualitative methodological, culturally sensitive framework to data collection and analysis. Findings emphasize the importance of learning from the experiences of youth and contribute to a contextual understanding of the issue in their words.