DECOLONIZING INTERVENTIONS

 Isumagijaksaq: mindful of the state: social constructions of Inuit suicide

 

Key Ideas/Concepts and Definitions: 

Colonial relations: institutions, social relations and communication styles, as well as the content of communication, associated with the imposition by the dominant Canadian culture of "ways of knowing and doing things" 

 

Narratives: stories of people’s lives in relation to this history

 

Thesis: 

Inuit suicide is the most significant mental health issue as the suicide rates in Nunavut are 6 times those of Canada's southern provinces. Examining colonial relations of ruling as well as autonomy of Inuit youth, is essential to understanding young Inuit suicide

 

Major Arguments:

There are three models used to try to understand or explain the Inuit suicides:

1. Medical or organic/quasi-organic model (genetic or biological approach)

2. Social change - social disorganization model (sociological approach that includes demographic research as well as anthropological and social explorations)

3. Socio-psychological model (relate to the experience of modernization, also tend to focus on the feelings, emotions or "states of mind" and the social/personal circumstances of individuals)

 

1. Organic/quasi-organic model: 

   • It is a social reconstruction of Inuit within the medical model where it is believed that stress of adjustment is the problem. 

   • Issues with this model:

     1. Cultural and gender biases are extreme

     2. Leaves unanswered questions surrounding the circumstances leading to the "psychic terror" or even the psychological correlates used to explain suicide

     3. Includes oblique references to historical circumstances but is presented as dead weight. The dynamic historical experience, remains unexplored                                                                                                                                 

2. Social change - social disorganization model

   • Many references to the nature of change after WWII, but it is important to note that not all Inuit undergoing rapid cultural and social change experience pain and depression. However, this suggests that the difference between is a lack of coping skills and this explains the difference in outcomes

   • Some use social analysis, emphasizing economic factors, industrialization and changing life-styles

   • Issues with this model:

     1. Details of change and how it is manifested is unexplored

     2. Systemic abuse of Inuit (physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually) is also unexplored. 

     3. The language of this model diminishes and obscures this colonial relationship portraying acculturation as a passive and benevolent process. (The discourse here is that these changes are unfortunate and unavoidable.)                                                                                                                                                                                       

3. Socio-psychological model

   • Domain of risk assessment (assessment focuses on the circumstances surrounding the individual and his or her emotional state),

   • Attempt to identify the prevalence of risk factors for attempted suicide such as having parents with a drug or drinking problem, age, unemployment, having friends who committed suicide, etc. 

   • Issues with this model:

     1. Can be vague when questioning what is a symptom? What is the cause of a problem? Are there ways that these factors interact with on another? Are there any variables that are important to recognize that have an impact that were missed? 

     2. Results of risk assessment reinforce the significance of post-modern sensibilities to understanding Inuit suicide

     3. Every individual has a different story and this is hard to express with the data typically explored within these assessments

   • Yet, the historical record suggest that many traditional cultural practices and psychological states interact with colonial and capitalist relations of ruling and it is important to recognize this

 

It is important to recognize that search for a model, a predictor, etc. is firmly grounded in modernist assumptions and once these models are developed, there is a tendency that is hard to avoid to make individuals and events fit into them

 

O'Niell reverts to case study and narrative approach to detail elements of colonial stress that he associates with the problem. These are important as they indicate a relationship between stress experiences and both the social contexts and historical moments in which individuals are located. The stresses he states is the stress of:

1. Definition

2. Isolation

3. Transition

4. Timing (timing the transition from one phase of life and personal development to another)

5. Consolidation (strengthening the identities and coping styles adapted to deal with the stresses of transition into adulthood at a particular historical moment)

 

Also, intergenerational realities are relevant in dealing with Inuit suicides

• The result was to develop a fear of authority and doubt about beliefs and practices binding Inuit culture together for generations. Thus, the children born and lived on land were caught between two new and different forms of authority: parents and others who through their use of disciple, anger and power, did much to undermined the traditional balance between autonomy and social obligation characteristic of Inuit culture

 

It is impossible to fully understand and work with the lived reality of Inuit communities without prior knowledge of the colonial and developmental history that has played such an important role in shaping Inuit lives. 

 

What to do: 

• Narratives are essential to understanding the relationship between suicide in the current generation of young people and Inuit colonial history. 

• The themes of having someone to talk with, connections to family, connections to the land and familiarity with other forms of traditional Inuit knowledge (Inuit Oaujimajatuqangit) were identified in association with wellness, happiness, health and healing. The problem of suicide was identified with being disconnected from family and with the break-up of romantic relationships. Thus, these themes must be understood. 

• It is suggested that narrative history, popular education and participatory research all have important roles to play in researching and addressing the problem of Inuit youth suicide 

• These efforts must confront fear of the past and the fear of talking about and revealing historical and colonial relations of ruling. If interventions in Inuit suicide are to be successful, they must be designed and researched with the idea of returning relative autonomy to the subject. 

 

Conclusion: 

The objective is to arrive at an appreciation of how colonial relations of ruling impact intimate and intergenerational relations among Inuit and have contributed to the most pressing public health problem currently confronting Inuit communities of Nunavut

 

Reference:

Tester, F. and McNicholl, J. (2004) Isumagijaksaq: Mindful of the state social science perspectives on Inuit suicide. Social Science & Medicine. 2626-36.