More than 100 people are expected to gather in downtown La Ronge for a vigil Tuesday night in honour of the six young girls from northern Saskatchewan who have committed suicide in recent weeks.
“Six girls committing suicide within this past month is just a tragic, tragic crisis that we’re dealing with as northerners,” Amie Bell, one of the vigil’s organizers, said in an interview Tuesday.
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On Sunday, a 13-year-old girl from La Ronge took her own life, according to Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson. The girls were from multiple northern Saskatchewan communities; none of them was older than 14-years-old.
“It’s really difficult, you know, to lose another youth to suicide and we are in a crisis situation,” Cook-Searson said.
Cook-Searson said more than 20 other youth are now identified with a “high risk” potential to harm themselves.
“It could be signs that maybe they told somebody that they were going to hurt themselves,” Cook-Searson said.
“It could be one of the friends saying that they think that this person’s going to harm themselves.”
Bell is a life-long resident of La Ronge and said “you could feel the energy” in the community during recent weeks.
“There are a lot of heavy-hearted people affected by this,” she said.
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The vigil is being organized by the NORTEP Student Association. The evening will include speeches from community leaders, drumming and prayers, according to Bell.
“I hope it shows support and I hope it spreads awareness of how many people this does affect and how it affects not only Saskatchewan, but nationwide,” Bell said.
“If we come together as a community, I think we’re going to be able to overcome this.”