Beyond Personal Pathology: Disability and Suicidality among Indigenous Peoples in Canada

Suicide rates among Indigenous Peoples in Canada remain significantly higher than those in non-Indigenous populations, yet explanations have mostly focused on individual and clinical factors. This study offers a sociological perspective by framing suicidality as an anomic response to structural frustration and strain caused by settler colonialism. In this view, patterns of suicidality, like patterns of drug use, are seen not as symptoms of personal pathology but as effects of structural harm experienced by Indigenous communities. Using data from the 2017 Aboriginal Peoples Survey, the analysis explores how structural conditions, together with constellations, relate to differences in suicidal thoughts. The results reveal that functional disability and unmet medical needs are strongly linked to both past and recent suicidal ideation, while residential instability correlates with past suicidal ideation. Marital ties are associated with lower levels of past suicidality. Variations across Indigenous identities remain, with Inuit respondents showing higher levels of suicidal thoughts. Mental health and a constellation of coping mechanisms also relate to suicidality. These findings emphasize the need to view suicidality within the context of broader structural inequalities and contribute to a sociological understanding that is informed by Indigenous and decolonial scholarship.