"Five young people - three teenagers and two 25-year-olds - on the Standing Rock reservation in Fort Yates, N.D., took their own lives from December through January. In addition, and in that same time period, more than 30 young people made some kind of a suicide threat or attempt that brought them to the Indian Health Service facility in Fort Yates, according to Indian Health Service staff.

Indian reservations aren't the only place where suicide is a cause of death. According to national statistics, suicide is the third-leading cause of death among 15- to 25-year-olds.

This is frightening.

What caused this epidemic of suicide on the Standing Rock Reservation? There is no one cause, no one answer, health-care and tribal leaders say. The really scary part is there doesn't seem to be a pattern, the father of a young teen who attempted suicide said."

Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Ultimate tragedy makes rez reel (The Grand Forks Herald 3/12)

More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
Yellow Bird: Use state budget surplus to fund child care (3/8)
Yellow Bird: An excellent adventure in the country (3/7)
Yellow Bird: Another one of my excellent adventures (3/1)
Yellow Bird: I'll take long hair over curling iron (2/28)
Yellow Bird: 'Fighting Sioux' needs to be changed (2/21)
Yellow Bird: Don't pull funding from 'Iron Horse' (2/14)
Yellow Bird: Accepting my mother's passing (2/8)
Yellow Bird: Churchills make lost Indians look bad (2/7)
Yellow Bird: A nation cannot flourish without children (2/1)
Yellow Bird: New center gives birth to new ideas (1/31)
Yellow Bird: Education system has seen many changes (1/25)
Yellow Bird: North Dakota shouldn't step on tribes (01/17)
Yellow Bird: Gaming only a temporary fix for tribes (1/10)
Yellow Bird: New Year brings out unusual traditions (1/7)
Yellow Bird: Bridges tell history of North Dakota tribe (12/07)
Yellow Bird: Watch out for dirt in your sausage (11/30)
Yellow Bird: Elders still maintain influence (11/29)
Yellow Bird: Worst fry bread served during NMAI (11/23)
Yellow Bird: Boarding schools forced assimilation (11/22)
Yellow Bird: The most terrifying snowstorm ever (11/16)
Yellow Bird: Feeling guilty about your new car (11/15)
Yellow Bird: Remembering my brother, a Vietnam vet (11/9)
Yellow Bird: Native voters make a difference (11/8)
Yellow Bird: Are the Pequots really a tribe? (11/2)
Yellow Bird: A story for Halloween night (11/1)
Yellow Bird: Cell phones now a part of rez life (10/25)
Yellow Bird: Tribal college leaders overlooked (10/19)
Yellow Bird: Let's settle dispute over Sakakawea (10/12)
Yellow Bird: Discovering the ancestral spirits (10/11)
Yellow Bird: Riding the rails across the country (10/4)
Yellow Bird: First visit to NMAI proves exciting (9/28)
Yellow Bird: Support the troops, but not the war (09/14)
Yellow Bird: Singing to myself about a new highway (9/13)
Yellow Bird: A Sasquatch story from the Nez Perce (9/7)
Yellow Bird: A worthwhile visit to Nez Perce relatives (9/6)
Yellow Bird: Students breathe life into community (8/30)
Yellow Bird: Family-run restaurants real jewels (8/25)
Yellow Bird: Indian athletes should strive for gold (8/23)
Yellow Bird: Not all Native people are conservative (8/23)
Yellow Bird: John Kerry's hands tell different story (8/16)
Yellow Bird: Indians becoming a force at the polls (08/03)
Yellow Bird: Ceremony provided needed respite (8/2)
Yellow Bird: A newbies guide to North Dakota Indians (07/12)
Yellow Bird: Are mourning doves on the Atkins diet? (7/6)
Yellow Bird: Off-reservation casino deserves chance (6/29)
Yellow Bird: Tribes should be models of government (6/28)
Yellow Bird: Rosalynn Carter a down-to-earth woman (6/22)
Yellow Bird: Program brings students to nature (6/21)
Yellow Bird: How low should those jeans go??? (6/15)
Yellow Bird: A world away at tribal pow-wow (6/14)
Yellow Bird: Reflecting on Civil Rights Act of 1964 (6/8)
Yellow Bird: Diversity, women welcome in government (6/7)
Yellow Bird: Bush made 'poor decisions' on Iraq war (06/02)
Yellow Bird: No outlet for North Dakota holy water (5/24)
Yellow Bird: First Lakota finishes UND nursing (5/18)
Yellow Bird: A goodbye to Friends and Frasier! (5/17)
Yellow Bird: Prisoner abuse recalls Indian massacre (5/11)
Yellow Bird: Mothers' distant memories still strong (5/10)
Yellow Bird: Foreigners more interested in Indians (5/4)
Yellow Bird: Tribes and media must work together (5/3)
Yellow Bird: Native people lost advocate in Elbers (4/27)
Yellow Bird: Think about Earth Day every day (4/26)
Yellow Bird: Strong flower like spirit of Native people (04/13)
Yellow Bird: Drum policy excluded local tribes (04/12)
Yellow Bird: The phenomenon of the 'hobby Indians' (04/06)
Yellow Bird: A tribute to the warrior women (4/5)
Yellow Bird: Indians the most misunderstood (3/31)
Yellow Bird: Keeping our ceremonies sacred (3/29)
Yellow Bird: Awakening for Native and Christian (3/23)
Yellow Bird: Saying goodbye, the Native way (3/16)
Yellow Bird: Human rights in North Dakota (3/15)
Yellow Bird: Hard to find Indian like Martha Stewart (3/9)
Yellow Bird: Is Big Foot wandering reservation? (3/8)
Yellow Bird: Sound of birds heralds arrival of spring (3/2)
Yellow Bird: Big market for 'isms' in the media (3/1)
Yellow Bird: Tribal justice program to bring good (2/24)
Yellow Bird: Indian perspective on Lewis & Clark (2/23)
Yellow Bird: In large family, sisters are special (2/18)
Yellow Bird: Atkins diet worked for Indian friends (2/16)
Yellow Bird: Big-city ballet in a Northern Plains town (2/10)
Yellow Bird: 'Fighting Sioux' is poor sportsmanship (2/9)
Yellow Bird: Lake outlet a tough sell for many (2/3)
Yellow Bird: The magic of the Spirit of the North (2/2)
Yellow Bird: Providing Indian education to public (1/26)
Yellow Bird: Long hair can be hazardous sometimes (1/20)
Yellow Bird: Remembering Grandmother Philomene (1/19)
Yellow Bird: Wild animals have a right to exist too (01/13)
Yellow Bird: Tribe has made incredible journey (1/12)
Yellow Bird: 'DreamKeepers' breaks stereotypes (01/07)