Native American communities have highest suicide rates, yet interventions are scarce

Amanda MorningStar has watched her children struggle with mental health issues, including suicidal thoughts. She often wonders why.

“We’re family-oriented and we do stuff together. I had healthy pregnancies. We’re very protective of our kids,” said MorningStar, who lives in Heart Butte, Montana, a town of about 600 residents on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Yet despite her best efforts, MorningStar said, her family faces a grim reality that touches Native American communities nationwide. About a year ago, her 15-year-old son, Ben, was so grief-stricken over his cousin’s suicide and two classmates’ suicides that he tried to kill himself.