ɫokʷimas - You are Strong
Youth Suicide Intervention Initiative
Tamika Mountain
“Tamika was a person full of life, she had one of the most contagious laughs, and she could easily light up the room. She was a social person, had a hilarious sense of humour, there was never a dull moment when Tamika was around.
She was the strongest person we knew; she had this way of carrying herself after everything she went through and was always the one to stand up and speak out.
She was my baby sister and older sister; Tamika was a big-hearted person, a kind soul, with a beautiful smile.”
– Miranda Mountain, Tamika’s Sister
The vision of this work was born from the passing of Tamika Mountain. Tamika was an 18 year old ʼNa̱mǥis youth that passed away from suicide in the spring of 2021. She is one of our fallen warriors.
We want to honour her life by developing this program in the hope that this work will help other young people who are navigating the the spirit of suicide. Providing youth with tools and resources to utilize during times of crisis, or in the words of Vikki Reynolds, our “howling at the moon moments” are aptly demonstrated through our program.
Noticeably, most suicide prevention work is geared towards how to talk to someone who is suicidal rather than how to resist giving into the spirit of suicide within ourselves. Our program is specifically designed to work towards resisting the spirit of suicide within Indigenous youth.
In this initiative, suicidalilty is looked at as a natural human response to carrying the burdens of 500+ years of attempted and ongoing colonial genocide. Colonial pathologies are often internalized. By externalizing these traumas, Indigenous people are able centre the resiliency, wisdom, and connection to land and culture that was there prior to contact. That is always there. This anecdote aptly conveys the current repercussions Indigenous people face. In moving away from programming that looks at suicidality as an individual problem, one founded on individualized responsibility versus institutional responsibility, we aim to address Indigenous trauma as a societally collective problem
Program Goals
- Decrease stigma surrounding the epidemic of suicidality for Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ youth
- Educationally empower youth on the impacts of trauma on our minds, bodies, and spirits
- Develop our abilities to utilize our Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ land-based healing cultures, modalities, breath, and bodies as acts of resistance and self-regulation as an antidote to suicidality
- Create a culture of belonging and safety for Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ youth
- Utilize Likwala as a foundational part of our wellness towards reclaiming our identity
Guidebooks
These workbooks were created with love and intention as a resource to accompany the Youth Suicide Prevention Workshop. Visit the Guidebook Page to download.
Program Delivery Options
- 1-Day Programs incl. Youth & Parent/Caregiver
- 11-Week Cohort
- Train the Trainer
