Land, Identity, and Healing

Suicide within Indigenous communities cannot be understood outside the context of historical trauma, colonization, and systemic marginalization. This chapter explores the unique risk factors contributing to Indigenous suicidality, including land displacement, cultural erosion, intergenerational trauma, and social inequities, while also highlighting protective factors rooted in community, tradition, and cultural identity. Rather than pathologizing Indigenous suicide, this chapter emphasizes the importance of self-determined, culturally grounded approaches that honor Indigenous knowledge, healing practices, and the role of reconnection—to land, ancestry, and identity—in suicide prevention.