Summary And Response
Introduction
The native Americans who live the Rosebud Sioux Reservation have in the recent past suffered from high incidence rates of suicide among their young generation. In her article, Nieves reports that the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, which has a population of an estimated thirteen thousand people, the people of Indian descent have suffered from numerous problems. In her conception, most of these problems have caused suicide and suicide attempts by many adolescents.
Most of these tragic events occur at the end of every two months, with most adolescents attempting to hang themselves. This was especially the case between the months of January and March in 2007 where local hospitals recorded one hundred and forty four cases of attempted suicides among young people of Indian descent. In the month of May alone, seven cases of attempted suicide were reported. The most common ways of attempted suicide were through consuming poison, hanging and slashing oneself to death (Nieves, 2007, p.1).
As such, attempted suicide became a social phenomenon among young people of Indian descent aged between fifteen and twenty four years in the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. Statistics on suicide among the young people of Indian descent in the Rosebud Sioux Reservation were higher when compared to the national average. More precisely, the number of suicides among the young people of Indian descent in the Rosebud Sioux Reservation were three times higher than the national average. This translated to thirteen cases in every one hundred thousand people. According to these statistics, attempted suicides became the second-leading cause of deaths, after accidents. Investigations into the phenomenon revealed that the cause of the suicide was the numerous problems that young people in the Rosebud Sioux Reservations faced (Nieves, 2007, p.1). The youth who were interviewed confided that most attempted suicides were though an overdose of medication.
Proposed Solutions and what others can Do
I agree that the federal government has a role to play in mitigating the social phenomenon under question. The government must work in order to promote the rights of indigenous people and support their aspirations to exist in the world. This is because the people of Indian descent contribute to the human diversity that enhances the potential for wealth creation. The United States government should also take concrete steps to address the challenges facing the Native American. This includes addressing the marginalization and exclusion of the Native Americans. The American government must pay attention to them as American citizens. One of the reasons that caused the emergence of the phenomenon of suicide in Indian regions, such as the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, is that Indian reservations suffered from extreme poverty. Indian regions are some of the poorest regions in the country. As a result, the poverty in Indian regions has caused many problems for them. These include the loss of their land and their cultural identity, which forms an integral part of the identity of any person (Nieves, 2007, p. 1). The poverty on Indian reservations is similar to that in the third world countries. This is because of the miserable situation in which they lived in the Indian reservations and the neglect ofthe American government.
There are also other reasons which contribute to the social phenomenon in Native American territories. Indian youths do not feel safe because of the gangs that cause insecurity in their territories. Additionally, the tragic events that they have faced in their life, such as alcoholism and desperation, also contribute to the problem (Nieves, 2007, p. 2). Other factors existing in Indian territory that contribute to the problem include alcohol and drug abuse and high rates of sexual harassment. Add to this the low social status and rampant poverty in Indian communities and you have serious precipitating factors for the high incidence rates of suicide. The issue of suicide in Indian communities deserves more attention than it receives. This is because the statistics indicate high suicide rates among young people in Indian communities that live in the United States of America.
Other members of the community have roles to play in mitigating the social phenomenon. Tribal leaders in the community have doubled their efforts to find solutions for sustainable security and organized after-school programs (Nieves, 2007, p. 2). Tribal leaders should make more efforts to create new programs for students in schools that are aimed at prevention and creating awareness of youth suicide. They should also establish summer programs for students in order to not only manage leisure time in the summer but also to offer of new skills. Community leaders can also help the tribal leaders by establishing educational centers to repair the problems of the family unit.
Federal lawmakers have also debated to find appropriate solutions for Indian areas. Proposed solutions included anti-harassment projects (Nieves, 2007, p. 2). The Congress and the Indian Health Service should give priority to supporting the Indian youth suicide prevention and intervention programs, support programs for adolescents who have attempted suicide and provide peer counseling programs to reduce suicide rates.
Conclusion
The problem of poverty is one of the issues that formed an obsession with Saudi society. The problem still exists, despite efforts of the Saudi government to create solutions such as the exchanged appropriated budgets to take care of the needy people as social insurance. However, the poverty in my country is different from the kind in the Indian reservations. This is because there are no particular areas that suffer from poverty as Indian reservations. I have had bad experiences with the sectarian discrimination in my country. Regrettably, one of the problems facing Saudi citizens is the sectarian discrimination and marginalization.
References
Nieves, E. (2007 June 9). Indian reservation reeling in wave of youth suicides and attempts. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/us/09suicide.html
