Shiprock Navajo Township

1st Annual Walk to Raise Awareness about Suicide among Native Americans

[Suicide Prevention Week September 9-15]

Written By: Larke Huang, Director Office of Behavioral Health Equity<http://www.samhsa.gov/obhe/>

Several Tribal groups, as part of the National NNEDLearn 2012 Training<http://nned.net/index-nned.php/nnedlearn/> sponsored by SAMHSA’s Office of Behavioral Health Equity<http://www.samhsa.gov/obhe/>, have organized the nation’s 1st Annual Walk to Raise Awareness about Suicide among Native Americans for Wednesday, September 12, 2012 in conjunction with National Suicide Prevention Week<http://iasp.info/wspd/?utm_source=Weekly+Resource+Email+2012.08..13&utm_campaign=Weekly+Resource+Email+2012.04.02&utm_medium=email> (September 9-15). The theme for this year’s Tribal walk is Tribal Communities Connecting Together to Prevent Suicide. The organizing Tribes represented among the planners are:

  *   Bishop Paiute (California)

  *   Choctaw (Mississippi)

  *   Creek (Oklahoma)*

  *   Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (Michigan)

  *   Pueblo of Laguna (New Mexico)

  *   Spokane (Washington)

  *   White Mountain Apache (Arizona)

Tribes are invited to join this effort by holding local walks or other activities on this day or during this week. By coming together in unity during this time Tribes will raise awareness about this important issue in their local communities as well as nationally. Write to info@nned.net<mailto:info@nned.net?subject=1st%20Annual%20Walk%20to%20Raise%20Awareness%20about%20Suicide%20among%20Native%20Americans> for more information on the walks.

*The Creek (Oklahoma) have planned a walk for Monday, September 10, 2012 from 4-6 pm at the Mound Auditorium (HWY 75 and Loop 56) Okmulgee, OK. For more information please call: 1-888-756-4333 Download walk flyer<http://nned.net/docs-general/SuicidePreventionWalk-MCN.pdf> (pdf).

Logo Contest:  We are holding a contest this year to design a logo that all tribes can use for next year’s walk. Let us know what you are doing in your community and submit your entries for the logo contest at info@nned.net<mailto:info@nned.net?subject=Suicide%20Walk%20Logo%20Contest>.

National Suicide Prevention Week is Sunday – Saturday, September 9 -15, 2012. Download toolkit<http://iasp.info/wspd/pdf/2012_wspd_toolkit.pdf> (pdf).

No matter what problems you are struggling with, hurting yourself isn’t the answer.

Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to talk to a counselor at a Lifeline crisis center near you.