Accessibility Links
Current Weather
Kitchener-WaterlooChange weather location7°C Clear
<a target=”_blank” href=”http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh%3Dv8/3c76/3/0/%2a/s%3B253617206%3B0-0%3B0%3B77369695%3B3454-728/90%3B47090734/47106912/1%3B%3B%7Eaopt%3D0/ff/7b/ff%3B%7Efdr%3D253000999%3B0-0%3B0%3B38730069%3B3454-728/90%3B46754677/46771150/1%3B%3B%7Eaopt%3D2/0/7b/0%3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp://www.mirvish.com/shows/warhorse/?utm_source=CBCdotca&utm_medium=cpm_dfa&utm_campaign=Warhorse&utm_content=quotes728x90“><img src=”http://s0.2mdn.net/3032547/warHorseQuotes728x90.jpg” width=”728″ height=”90″ border=”0″ alt=”Advertisement” galleryimg=”no”></a>
<a href=”http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/cbc.ca/nozone/;pos=topleader;dcopt=ist;tile=1;sz=728×90;page=“story”;section=”null”;category=”null”;ord=123456789?” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/cbc.ca/nozone/;dcopt=ist;tile=1;sz=728×90;page=“story”;section=”null”;category=”null”;ord=123456789?” width=”728″ height=”90″ border=”0″ alt=”Advertisment” /></a>
CBC Global Header Navigation
Search CBC.ca Submit Search

British Columbia
LIVE Vancouver More Streams CBC Radio One
Listen Live

Major StoriesIn The News
CBC News Navigation
Rash of suicides prompts B.C. chief to plea for help
Cowichan tribes dealing with high unemployment, erosion of rights, says chief
The Canadian Press
Posted: May 14, 2012 7:13 PM PT
Last Updated: May 14, 2012 9:11 PM PT
Read 10 comments10
Cowichan Chief Harvey Alphonse says his First Nation is developing a plan, but they need outside help, too. (CBC)
Related
Related Stories
First Nations’ suicide prevention guide celebrates diversity
Close
B.C. First Nation emergency2:43

B.C. First Nation emergency2:43
Suicide is tearing apart one of the largest aboriginal nations in B.C., causing the chief and council to reach out for government help and issue a gut-wrenching plea to its young people to embrace life.
Cowichan Tribes Chief Harvey Alphonse said Monday many young people have lost their will to live and it’s spawned a disturbing spike in suicides and attempted suicides.
“My own personal experience is that a couple of individuals that have approached me have considered taking their life. . . They’ve given up because they feel there isn’t any hope for them,” he said at a news conference.
‘There is a sense of hopelessness.’—Chief Harvey Alphonse
Last week, Alphonse and his council signed a declaration calling for a local state of emergency, noting that suicide alerts have jumped by more than 2.5 times in the past five years.
Alphonse said his First Nation has lost two tribal employees to suicide in recent months.
“We are losing our most valuable resources — our children and our caregivers,” he said.
Four in two months
From Feb. 26 to April 26, four First Nations males who were living between Duncan, B.C., and Nanaimo, B.C., committed suicide, said B.C. Corners Service spokeswoman Barbara McLintock.
Three of the four appear to be Cowichan members and were in their 20s and 30s, she said, adding the fourth male was 72 years old.
Alphonse said the Cowichan Tribes is developing a strategic plan, “Embracing Life at Cowichan Tribes,” and is asking the federal and B.C. governments to bring in resources to help prevent further suicide deaths or attempts.
Alphonse said a tragic event from his personal life highlights the critical need for immediate government response to suicide issues.
He said he once chose to wait a short time before helping a friend who spoke of suicide, but he made the wrong choice.
“It’s something that I regret to this day,” said Alphonse. “I had asked him to wait for at least half an hour while I delivered some equipment back to the rental place I rented the equipment from and when I had returned, he had already completed the suicide.”
“So I know personally the impact when someone is talking about committing suicide, that it’s important to stay there because you may not have the second chance,” he said.
Appeals to government
Alphonse called on federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan to visit the Cowichan Tribes and start to work with the First Nation on an urgent basis to address suicide prevention.
Alphonse acknowledged that other First Nations across Canada are struggling with equally troubling issues, but Duncan needs to come to Cowichan, “because of the valuable resources — because of our children who are crying out for help.”
Three boys of the Cowichan tribes walk along a road on their reserve near Duncan, B.C. (CBC)
Duncan could not be immediately reached for comment, but a spokesman for federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said her department will contact the Cowichan Tribes in the coming days to offer help.
Steve Outhouse said Ottawa can bring extra resources to the First Nation.
Alphonse said the high unemployment rate in his community, which he estimated at 85 per cent, is contributing to a deepening malaise that has grown deadly.
“There is a sense of hopelessness,” he said.
“We’re at a time where I guess the economy is difficult, there’s high unemployment, many of the inherent rights that we know of are being eroded, for example our hunting rights, our fishing rights.”
The Cowichan Tribes, with 4,500 members, bills itself as the single-largest band government in B.C., and its traditional territory covers the area of Cowichan Valley on the southeast side of Vancouver Island.
Alphonse said the declaration is part of a plan to give band members hope that the epidemic will end.
“It’s devastating whenever an individual is successful,” he said. “It impacts not only the immediate family, but the entire community. That’s where the ripple effect seems to take place.”
© The Canadian Press, 2012

Share Tools
Comments (10)
Hide comments
Sort comments by: Most recentFirst to lastHighest ratedMost activeGoDisplay:
comments per page
Log in or Sign up to submit your comment.
Stay Connected with CBC News
Big Box Advertisement
<a href=”http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/cbc.ca/nozone/;pos=topbox;tile=2;sz=300×250;page=story;section=null;category=null;ord=123456789?” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/cbc.ca/nozone/;tile=2;sz=300×250;page=story;section=null;category=null;ord=123456789?” width=”300″ height=”250″ border=”0″ alt=”Advertisment” /></a>
Latest British Columbia News Headlines

Rash of suicides prompts B.C. chief to plea for help
Read 10 comments10 Suicide is tearing apart one of the largest aboriginal nations in B.C., causing the chief and council to reach out for government help and issue a gut-wrenching plea to its young people to embrace life.
more »
B.C. hang-glider pilot apologizes for fatal flight
The pilot in a fatal B.C. hang-glider incident has publicly apologized to the victim’s family, saying he “failed in such a major way” during the tragic flight. more » Possible ignition sources at B.C. sawmill fires found Read 16 comments16 WorkSafeBC has released new information about the possible causes of two fires at B.C. sawmills this year. more » 3 confirmed dead in plane crash near Kelowna, B.C.
Three people were killed in a float plane crash about 25 kilometres southwest of Kelowna in the Okanagan region of B.C. on Sunday evening, the Transportation Safety Board has confirmed. more » RCMP didn’t see Pickton as serial killer RCMP officers investigating missing women cases on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastide allowed their exmination of Robert Pickton’s possible involvement to lay dormant or months at a time, a public inquiry heard Monday. more »
Most Recent
Show previous slide
CBC News Vancouver late Night
CBC News Vancouver at 6
B.C. First Nation emergency
3 dead in B.C. plane crash
B.C. PST returning
B.C. truck safety
Show next slide
Show previous slide
May 14, 2012
One year until next election
One year until next election (uncut)
May 14, 2012
Curbside Donations
Book deemed too racy for U.S. libraries a hot item in the Okanagan
Show next slide
Top News Headlines

B.C. hang-glider pilot apologizes for fatal flight
The pilot in a fatal B.C. hang-glider incident has publicly apologized to the victim’s family, saying he “failed in such a major way” during the tragic flight.
more »
Massive budget bill passes 2nd reading
Read 275 comments275 The Conservative government’s massive budget implementation bill cleared its first major legislative hurdle today, passing second reading as New Democrats conceded there was little they would be able to do to block the vote. more » Military to test PTSD video therapy 
Read 16 comments16 The Canadian military has decided to try a virtual reality therapy that could help soldiers diagnosed with PTSD. more » How safe are private aircraft? 
Read 43 comments43 Three plane crashes in one week, including a mid-air collision have raised questions about the safety of private airplane travel in Canada. There were 224 accidents involving single engine aircraft in Canada in 2011. more » Quebec education minister quits over tuition dispute 
Read 392 comments392 Quebec’s new education minister, Michelle Courchesne, has summoned student leaders and post-secondary officials to meet her Tuesday, hours after her predecessor Line Beauchamp’s surprise announcement that she was quitting her post and giving up politics. more » More Headlines »
B.C. hang-glider pilot apologizes for fatal flight B.C. to drop HST for ‘improved’ PST Rash of suicides prompts B.C. chief to plea for help 3 confirmed dead in plane crash near Kelowna, B.C. Possible ignition sources at B.C. sawmill fires found Cougar feasts on prey in B.C. backyard Teen brothers killed in Richmond, B.C. car crash B.C. NDP support hits 50% in latest poll Teens killed in Richmond, B.C., crash identified
CBC News Vancouver
Big Box Advertisement
<a target=”_black” href=”http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh%3Dv8/3c76/3/0/%2a/c%3B253229920%3B0-0%3B0%3B57792206%3B4307-300/250%3B46562820/46579503/1%3B%3B%7Eaopt%3D2/0/ff/0%3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp://www.cbcmusic.ca“><img src=”http://s0.2mdn.net/2355235/CBCMusic_Vanessa_300X250.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” ></a> <a href=”http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/cbc.ca/nozone/;pos=bottombox;tile=3;sz=300×250;page=story;section=null;category=null;ord=123456789?” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/cbc.ca/nozone/;tile=3;sz=300×250;page=story;section=null;category=null;ord=123456789?” width=”300″ height=”250″ border=”0″ alt=”Advertisment” /></a>
Show previous slide
Don’t Miss
Show next slide
CBC Global Footer Navigation
Corporate
Stay Connected
CBC Links
CBC Radio-Canada Copyright © CBC 2012