Suicide among Indigenous Sami in Arctic Norway, 1970–1998

Abstract

Suicide mortality was examined between 1970 and 1998 in a cohort of 19,801 persons categorized as indigenous Sami in Arctic Norway. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated using the suicide rates of the rural population of Arctic Norway as reference. There was a significant moderate increased risk for suicide among indigenous Sami (SMR = 1.27, 95% Confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.56). In the study period, 89 suicides occurred in the cohort (70 men and 19 women) with increased suicide mortality both for indigenous Sami males (SMR = 1.27; 95% CI: 0.99-1.61) and females (SMR = 1.27; 95% CI: 0.77-1.99). Significant increased suicide mortality was found for young Sami aged 15-24 for both males (SMR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.13-2.78) and females (SMR = 3.17; 95% CI: 1.17-6.91). Significant increased suicide mortality was found for indigenous Sami males residing in Sami core area (SMR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.04-2.20) and for indigenous Sami males not belonging to semi-nomadic reindeer herding (SMR = 1.30; 95% CI: 1.00-1.65). Clusters of suicides in Sami core area may explain the increased suicide mortality found in subgroups among indigenous Sami.

Childhood violence and mental health among indigenous Sami and non-Sami populations in Norway: a SAMINOR 2 questionnaire study

“…Moreover, the results of these studies are ambiguous [12], probably due to differences in problem formulation and study design [12,17]. Further, the lack of differences in mental health problems between Sami and Norwegians, as presented in certain earlier papers [13,17], may be due to overlooked within-group differences in the Sami population. For instance, some Sami subgroups may be less vulnerable to mental health problems due to protective factors at an individual, family and/or community level [28,51].…”

Prevalence of suicidal behaviour among indigenous Sami in northern Norway

“…In connection with the national census in 1970, a survey of Sami ancestry was performed in preselected census tracts in the 3 northernmost counties of Norway: Nordland, Troms and Finnmark (see Aubert, 1978 Table I. A more detailed description of the sample and the procedure in Study I are provided elsewhere (2).…”

State of the World's Indigenous Peoples

“…Such discriminatory public policies have justified State expropriation of pastoralist lands for sedentary agriculture, resource extraction or infrastructure development, national parks or nature reserves, with devastating effects on both the environment and on the pastoralist peoples themselves. These negative approaches are beginning to provide some lessons: 61 Studies from Africa have in fact shown that pastoral systems are two to 10 times more productive than ranching alternatives in the drylands. "Despite gross underinvestment and neglect, both in the production system and in the producers themselves, pastoralism continues to contribute healthily to national economies and export earnings".…”

“…It is nevertheless very likely that a great number of pastoralists will have to deal with increasingly dry and less fertile lands. In addition to changing rainfall patterns, other major effects include biodiversity shifts, changing wind patterns, more frequent floods and droughts, heat waves 61 Nori, Taylor and Sensi (2008) 62 Hatfield and Davies (2006), 5 pastoralism is practised on 25 per cent of the global land area and tropical cyclones. Therefore, it is essential that their primary coping tool-mobility-be respected rather than restricted.…”

“…60 Indigenous peoples also feel that there are still arguments for a new legal regime specifically designed for indigenous peoples enabling them to protect and benefit from their cultural expressions and traditional knowledge, and that support should be given to develop systems and standards that allow them to fully negotiate terms in relation to the commercial use of their cultural expressions. 61 The issue, then, is to find ways to reconcile the provisions of different international intellectual property regimes in order to protect traditional knowledge for the benefit of the indigenous community and promote its appropriate use within wider society.…”