Red Lake Nation Bands Together to Stop Youth Violence in Schools

The Red Lake Nation is banding together in hopes of finding solutions to rising violence in schools.

After there were reports of fights and verbal abuse in the hallways of Red Lake schools, community members and leaders decided to take initiative to solve this issue.

The rise in violence is an unexpected effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Institute of Education Sciences report that 1 in 3 school leaders saw a rise in youth violence during the 2021-2022 school year. Certain factors that contribute toward this rise include heightened stress levels, isolation, and unattended mental health needs due to lack of resources.

However, some communities are starting to fight back. Red Lake members and leaders gathered Wednesday in Redby for the second part of a meeting to find solutions in order to alleviate this stressful situation.

The goal of the meeting was to discuss solutions and community commitments toward ending the rise in youth violence in and out of the classroom. Some ideas included introducing more cultural programs or volunteering to assist the teachers in the school.

The next meeting is planned for November 9th at the Red Lake High School.