%0 Journal Article
%T ¡°If you do not birget [manage] then you don¡¯t belong here¡±: a qualitative focus group study on the cultural meanings of suicide among Indigenous S¨¢mi in arctic Norway
%A Anne Silviken
%A Gro Berntsen
%A Heidi Hjelmel
%A Jon Petter Anders Stoor
%J International Journal of Circumpolar Health
%D 2019
%R https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2019.1565861
%X ABSTRACT Suicide is a major public health issue across the Arctic, especially among Indigenous Peoples. The aim of this study was to explore and describe cultural meanings of suicide among S¨¢mi in Norway. Five open-ended focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 22 S¨¢mi (20) and non-S¨¢mi (2) participants in South, Lule, Marka, coastal and North S¨¢mi communities in Norway. FGDs were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed employing thematic analysis. Six themes were developed from the analysis: ¡°S¨¢mi are treated negatively by the majority society¡±, ¡°Some S¨¢mi face negative treatment from other S¨¢mi¡±, ¡°The historic losses of the S¨¢mi have turned into a void¡±, ¡°S¨¢mi are not provided with equal mental health care¡±, ¡°The strong S¨¢mi networks have both positive and negative impacts¡± and ¡°¡®Birgetkultuvvra¡¯ might be a problem¡±. The findings indicate that the participants understand suicide among S¨¢mi in relation to increased problem load for S¨¢mi (difficulties in life not encountered by non-S¨¢mi) and inadequate problem-solving mechanisms on different levels, including lack of equal mental health care for S¨¢mi and cultural values of managing by oneself (¡°ie£¿ birget¡±). The findings are important when designing suicide prevention initiatives specifically targeting S¨¢mi
%U https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22423982.2019.1565861