Understanding suicide in the san francisco bay area American Indian/Alaska Native community

The long history of oppression of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) has had a devastating effect on the health of Native people. AIAN from various tribes began migrating in significant numbers from reservations and rancherias to major urban areas such as San Francisco Bay Area during the 1950's under the Bureau of Indian Affairs Relocation Program. California is home to the largest AIAN population in the country. Of all California AIAN, 70% live in urban areas and over 80,000 reside in the SF Bay Area.

Nationally, American Indian and Alaska Natives experience a suicide rate 70% higher than the national average. While suicide in rural areas has received research attention, little has been written about Native suicide in urban areas. This is partly due to the documented inaccuracy of racial classification in existing data sources, leaving researchers with few tools to understand the problem.

In order to address this gap, the Native American Health Center initiated a study of suicide in the AIAN community in the SF Bay Area. We aimed to document the prevalence of suicide in the AIAN community, as well as to identify areas for improving services provided by an urban AIAN-serving health center in order to prevent future attempts. We conducted in-depth interviews with staff of Native-serving organizations, community elders, and other stakeholders in the urban AIAN community. We present here the background to this study, the methods we used to conduct the study, the results we found, and our conclusions.