Suicide rates across the U.S. have spiked to the highest levels in decades, hitting the indigenous community hardest.
The suicide rate in 2017 was 33% higher than it was in 1999, according to the Center for Disease Control. The increase was seen in both men and women and across all races, but during that time disproportionately rose among Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Indigenous women saw a 139% increase and men saw a 71% increase.
Younger people were also hit harder by the increases. The majority of suicides affected those aged 15 to 44.
William Kerr, director of the NIAAA Alcohol Research Group, told BuzzFeed News that alcohol and opioids could be a factor in the increase.
“Certainly for [Native American and Alaska Native] men and women, alcohol use by the individual and by family and community members is a major factor,” Kerr said. “The opioid crisis is also part of the picture and this has affected [Native American and Alaska Native] groups similarly to non-Hispanic whites, rising to levels that similarly have impacts through individual, family, and community problematic use.”
