Suicide crisis
The suicide crisis among young indigenous people both in North America and around the globe is a key concern of this text. Talaga points to many examples, including suicide pact of seven young girls, and individual examples of suicide. She argues that there must be a reason suicide rates are so high among indigenous communities, and that there hasn’t been enough thought into what the solutions are. As such, she attempts to explore this in her text.
Talaga ultimately argues that a struggle with identity leads many young indigenous people to commit suicide. This is a result of colonization, cultural genocide and the removal from language and land. Due to this, many indigenous young people have been robbed of their own culture and history, and therefore feel disconnected and alienated.
The impact of colonialism in North America
Alongside causing issues with identity, Talaga argues that colonialism has also caused societal problems. Talaga’s previous book Seven Fallen Feathers looked at the impact of colonialism on education, and All Our Relations is concerned with the impact of colonialism on healthcare.
Throughout the text she gives examples of where the current healthcare system for indigenous communities has failed. One example is a young boy who died of strep throat, despite it being an easily curable condition. Talaga gives many examples of when urgent healthcare requests have been denied due to a lack of funding, including in the case of the seven girls who committed suicide in a pact.
Under the current system, many small indigenous communities do not have their own doctors and mental health professionals. As a result, to receive treatment they must travel into cities, away from their community and families. Talaga argues that this system is entirely wrong and does not solve the mental health crisis. Instead, many people return from treatment and have not improved.
The global impact of colonialism
Although Talaga focuses mainly on indigenous communities in North America, she often widens out this argument to make a global conclusion about the traumatic impact of colonialism. From Australian Aborigines to the Inuit people of Greenland, Talaga shows how the indigenous experience is similar across the globe. She shows that higher suicide rates exist in many indigenous communities around the world, who have been impacted by colonialism.
