AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH SUICIDE “Things are going wrong and they can't change. They are not shown the love they need. They say, “You didn't like me when I was here. Now you love me when I'm not here” (Mangas, 2010).” Coloradas Mangas, a resident of the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico, explains why he thinks suicide is so common among his peers. Mangas, then 15, coldly recalls his recent encounter with a friend's suicide attempt and the aftermath of his friend's suicide, all occurring within the span of a few weeks. In light of the events and the alarming suicide rate among American Indian and Alaska Native youth, he spoke of his community's desperation for help before a legislative committee during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee . Coloradas Mangas is one of many American Indians who have personally been the victim of a suicide attempt as well as experiencing the grief of many of his friends and family. Coloradas' story is a consequence of the lack of culturally appropriate and adequate mental health services for American Indian and Alaska Native youth. The serious consequences resulting from the absence of such services are the high rate of suicide, its impact on future generations of an already less populated ethnic group and the injustice of not having resources to improve the quality of life, thus proving that this is a relevant problem that needs to be resolved. addressed now. This health disparity has been neglected for too long and it is an issue that we, as a nation that advocates for health care, must begin to address. Promoting more effective and adequate mental health services for Native American youth should be a priority in terms of resource allocation for a number of reasons. The first reason is the consequence...... middle of article...... 2010.Wexler, L. Inupiat Youth Suicide and Culture Loss: Changing Community Conversations for Prevention, Social Science and Medicine , Volume 63, Number 11, December 2006, pages 2938-2948, ISSN 0277-9536, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.07.022. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953606003868. Wissow, L.S., Walkup, J., Barlow, A., Reid, R., Kane, S. (2001, November). Cluster and regional influences on suicide in an American Indian tribe, Social Science & Medicine, 53(9), 1115-1124, ISSN 0277-9536, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016 / S0277-9536(00) 00405-6. Woodard, S. (2012). Suicide is an epidemic among Native American youth: what more can be done? Accessed October 20, 2013, from http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/10/14340090-suicide-is-epidemic-for-american-indian-youth-what-more-can-be-done.