By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa British Columbia – This past summer, a 14-year-old boy hung himself in the rural First Nations community of Pacheedaht on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. “It was the saddest, saddest thing ever,” said Pacheedaht Chief Councillor Arliss Jones. “He was just an innocent little kid. The youth are still really hurt about him.” Suicide deaths in Pacheedaht are high, says Jones. It’s a grim reality many Indigenous (First Nations/Métis/Inuit) communities in British Columbia face; a new B.C. coroner panel report shows Indigenous youth and young adults are disproportionately overrepresented among those who die by suicide in B.C. The report, Creating Connection, Supporting Strengths: A Review of Youth and Young Adult Deaths by Suicide In British Columbia, 2019-2023, found the rate of…
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