A child takes her own life as suicide pact shakes indigenous Canadian community

The three 12-year-old girls made a pact: They would all take their own lives.

They lived in Wapekeka First Nation, an isolated community of less than 400 people in the boreal forest of northwestern Ontario, Canada. The Oji-Cree community — which can be reached only by aircraft — is one of many indigenous groups in the region plagued by high rates of suicide over the years and lacking the necessary funds to address the crisis.