In response to increases in suicide in the Bristol Bay region since COVID-19:
“To every native man (or woman) who feels like this on the inside and doesn’t talk about really awful things that you’ve witnessed or experienced: Your traumatic experiences don’t make you less of a man. You are allowed to heal in whatever way you need to. Sometimes we carry the feelings of the traumatic experiences of our mothers and fathers several generations back and it’s difficult to understand why we carry so much pain. Suicide has left so many tears in the fabric of our societies. Please, remember that there are a thousand possibilities, paths that only you could walk. There is a path forward. There are so many things that only you know. You are so important in this world.”