Sacred Voices: A Tribal Response to Suicide Prevention

Comanche Nation Prevention and Recovery held Sacred Voices: A Tribal Response to Suicide Prevention on September 10 and 11 at Apache Casino in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Guest speakers included actor Danny Trejo, who discussed drug and alcohol addiction as well as recovery, and Kevin Hines, who attempted suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.

Tribal leaders, including Comanche Nation Chairman Forrest Tahdooahnippah, and tribes across Oklahoma were also in attendance.

There were several breakout sessions for education and awareness.

Prevention and Recovery Project Coordinator Nicole Asepermy said it’s important to reach out to the community.

“Really kind of be like, ‘Hey…we're 988, we're here…and if you're struggling with mental health, it's okay,’ and just kind of just put it out there,” she said. “And it's important for our community to reach out… because the more…we get our community involved…the better chances that it is for somebody to get help.”

Asepermy said when communities are involved, they heal each other.

“There's power in numbers…we see more people coming in to participate…it pulls people out of their normal of things that they do,” she said. “Sometimes people like to isolate or stay home…and…people seeing people gather for an event…then it's just like, ‘Hey, you know, let me go, let's go check it out, let's go be a part of…and that's really important in healing.”

Belonging and connecting with others has a lot to do with healing, according to Asepermy.

“Our goal is to…just make it, you know, bring awareness…I'm part of a recovery group, so it's like one of our biggest things we have is…a speaker meeting,” she said. “So, people come, you speak, you tell your story, so the more times that you tell your story…that you get to heal all the times that you get to tell your story, but then also…people that are hearing your story get to heal, too, as well.”

Asepermy is two and a half years into her own recovery.

There were also vendor booths and information from various organizations.

For anyone who needs to reach out, the 988 Lifeline is available 24/7.