Lisa Murkowski

It requires that as a community, we are watching, not only our kids, but our neighbor's kids.

So in addition to the traditional ways that Dr. Mala advises, we need to be tuned to how the young people are communicating as well.

I worry that as we lose some of the strength within our villages, it's more difficult to know what is happening within the families.

We need to work together to make a difference.

Thank you. Good words, Evon.

How do we make sure that, as Alaskans, we say, 'Yes, these are our problems. This is ours to solve together.'

When we were in Bethel last year and had the listening session then and heard some young people speak, there was one individual who said that suicide, unfortunately, was viewed as normal.

We, as Alaska Natives and American Indians, need to work together to keep building prosperity on those good things.

I believe that the solutions will not come unless we're listening to our young people.

The issue of the competition for the grants, I think, is an important one and unfortunately, it may be that in areas that might have greater need, you don't have the expertise to write the grants, just the structural issues, keep those who…

This is a longer-term problem.

Dr. McKeon, is there room, do you believe, to undertake a similar study that may be focused on our Native people and on our kids similar to what we saw with ACEs?

I'm not convinced that we're seeing the resources that we need to address this epidemic in Alaska and on our reservations.

I want to focus on early intervention.

How can we better translate into action, whether it is specific programs, whether it's grants to address some of these root causes?

Are we doing enough to address the problem, and I don't remember if it was you, Diane, or you, Sally, the word epidemic was used and I believe that suicide is an epidemic in this state.

Please do everything to ensure that S. 740 is passed.

I want to work with you to do more. This is too important.

We will open this Field Hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee here in Anchorage, Alaska, at the Alaska Federation of Natives Annual Convention.

There's nothing more frustrating than knowing that you have the ability to address something, but you've got your policies that are hanging you up from accomplishing that.

We need to wake up to the fact that it's happening around us and it's happening in waters that we share.

Again, I would ask the question whether you believe that it will be completed in time to allow Shell to proceed with the 2012 season.

Where are we in terms of moving this along? What can we anticipate?

I understood that that business case study was due out on the 15th of October.

I have suggested many, many times that the current status of our ice breaking capacity as an Arctic Nation just simply is unacceptable.