Suicides and Homicides among Indians

THE purpose of this paper is to compare suicide and homicide statistics for American with those for the general U.S. population. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is responsible for providing comprehensive health services to about 400,000 Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos residing in 24 Federal Reservation States, primarily west of the Mississippi. Another 150,000 in those 24 States are not provided services by the Indian Health Service, mainly because they live off the reservations and long distances from IHS facilities. With the exception of table 3 and the discussion related to it, all references in this paper to Indians mean the total estimate of 550,000 Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos in those 24 States. Table 3, in which the vital events are presented by sex, is based on the total Indian population in all 50 States, including Aleuts and Eskimos beginning with 1964. This total population was estimated at 630,000 in 1967. The sources of the statistics on are tabulations derived from data furnished to the Indian Health Service by the Vital Statistics Division of the National Center for Health Statistics, Public Health Service. Figures for the United States were derived from data appearing in Vital Statistics of the United States, published annually by the National Center for Health Statistics. Indian deaths from suicide and homicide in 1967 rose substantially over the numbers in past years, pushing these two causes into the leading 10. Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in 1967, up from 13th in each of the previous 8 years. Homicide moved up to eighth from 11th or 12th during the previous 8 years. The 13 leading causes of Indian death in 1967, in order, were accidents; diseases of the heart; malignant neoplasms; influenza and pneumonia, except of the newborn; certain diseases of early infancy; vascular lesions affecting the central nervous system; cirrhosis of the liver; homicide; diabetes mellitus; suicide; tuberculosis, all forms; gastritis, duodenitis, enteritis, and colitis, except diarrhea of the newborn; and congenital malformations.