Bill aims to help tribes curb youth suicide

WOLF POINT – At the remote Turtle Mound Buffalo Ranch, owned by the Fort Peck Tribes and home to its 150 transplanted Yellowstone bison, Gov. Steve Bullock signed a measure Wednesday to bolster youth suicide prevention efforts in Montana.

Funding for the $250,000 effort is in House Bill 2, the main budget bill passed last month, which will be used within the next two years by youth suicide prevention programs in Montana's tribal communities.

Dozens of tribal leaders, legislators and community members attended the event, in which Bullock told them more than 30 percent of American Indian students in urban communities have contemplated suicide and more than 20 percent have made attempts to kill themselves.

Montana has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, and according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Native Americans ages 10 to 24 have twice the rate of suicide than non-Indian youth.

"This community isn't immune from being hit by lives that have been cut short far too early," said Bullock, referring to the rash of youth suicides in 2010 in which five Poplar Middle School students committed suicide. The following year, two other reservation youths also killed themselves.

"The ripples of a young person taking their own life spreads further than just with the families. It touches the entire state," Bullock said.

Tribal Councilwoman Roxanne Gourneau, whose son took his life in 2010 at the age of 17, said the ceremonial bill signing also means it's time to talk openly about suicide and its effect on family and friends.

"I celebrate this day," Gourneau said. "We want those who suffer from profound pain to know that we're fighting for you. In Montana, so many of us suffer."

Tribal leaders selected the buffalo prairie as a backdrop for the bill signing to let people know that one of the main reasons for establishing a cultural herd is to bring cultural identity and self-esteem back to the youths.

"We want the governor to smell our land and feel how powerful our buffalo are to us," Gourneau said.

Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, said the measure was one of the governor's priorities and it struggled in the House chambers this past legislative session. Eventually, it survived and found its way to the governor's desk, he said.

Bullock commended all of Montana's tribal nations for not sitting back and refusing inaction in light of the grim statistics.

"None of this work is easy. It requires difficult conversations, and uncomfortable realizations. But ultimately, the challenge of addressing youth suicides in our state is a small price to pay to ensure that every young person knows their value and recognizes that there is support for them throughout their community," Bullock said.