Facebook fix to 'real names' policy is crucial for young Native Americans

On March 21, Navajo activist and social worker Amanda Blackhorse learned her Facebook account had been suspended. The social media service suspected her of using a fake last name.

This halt was more than an inconvenience. It meant she could no longer use the network to reach out to young Native Americans who indicated they might commit suicide.

Many other Native Americans with traditional surnames were swept up by Facebook’s stringent names policy, which is meant to authenticate user identity but has led to the suspension of accounts held by those in the Native American, drag and trans communities.

Following protests by civil rights groups, Facebook said it would alter its "authentic names" policy to allow users to "provide more information about their circumstances." Facebook will also require users who flag others for using fake names to provide more information. The changes are slated to roll out next month.

This fix is urgent for Native American youth. By suspending the personal accounts of Native Americans, Facebook has hindered one of Indian country’s most effective tools to detect and prevent potential youth suicide.

Today in the U.S., Native American youths both on and off the reservation are more than twice as likely to commit suicide than non-Native Americans. Last year on the Navajo Nation, there were 10 suicides in the small town of Chinle alone, Blackhorse says.

On occasion, Blackhorse, who prefers to be referenced as Diné, which means "The People," says she happens upon Native American youths on Facebook who appear to suffer from depression and are a threat to themselves.

Facebook, in an emailed statement, said: “We want everyone on Facebook to be able to use the name their friends and family know them by. We recognize that the current process does not work for everyone, and that’s why we have a team working on improvements that will begin to roll out in December."

Not long after her account was turned back on, Blackhorse was scrolling through Facebook when she saw that a 13-year-old Native American girl had posted pictures of herself cutting her arm. Immediately, Blackhorse wrote the young girl, hoping her words of encouragement would prevent yet another youth suicide attempt.

"It’s going to be OK," Blackhorse wrote the young girl. "There's help out there."

She said other Native Americans on Facebook who also saw the teenager’s post rallied and sent her similar messages of hope. Without the Internet and social media, this young girl might have suffered alone, Blackhorse says.

In February, a spike in suicides on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota prompted officials there to declare a state of emergency. There were two suicides in one week; one of the deceased was a seventh grader.

Kevin Steele, spokesman for the Oglala Lakota Nation, said social media, particularly Facebook, has greatly helped the residents of Pine Ridge recognize the signs of a potential youth suicide. In that way, social media acts as a lifeline for the community, he says.

But although Facebook assists in the effort to stave off the plague of suicide in Indian country, it is certainly not a panacea.

Susan Two Eagle, who lives on Pine Ridge, says social media can alert friends and family to a possible youth suicide attempt. Two Eagle added that in most cases, the youths on her reservation who committed suicide had posted an alarming and indicative message on Facebook. The problem: Physically getting to the person before one occurs. "The people can’t get to them fast enough," she says.

Facebook says it worked with mental health experts to update its suicide prevention tools.

"They stressed how important it is for people struggling with suicidal thoughts to be able to connect with people who care," Facebook said in an emailed statement. "Our updated tools provide resources and support to people who may be in distress and their concerned friends and family members.”

Another major challenge: Not all Native American communities have access to Facebook. According to the Federal Communications Commission, across the country, 63% of Americans living on tribal lands do not have high-speed broadband Internet.

Moves are being made to get high-speed Internet to Native Americans on reservations. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced last week a partnership with Verizon and Microsoft to provide tablets and wireless to thousands of Native American students in Winslow, Ariz., which is located near the Navajo Nation.

This is a necessary and unprecedented step by the U.S. government, but providing thousands of Native American youths with broadband Internet is not enough. Millions need it. Broadband Internet, as President Obama said during a recent visit to the Choctaw Nation, "is not a luxury. It’s a necessity." That's especially true for Native Americans who are the smallest racial minority in the country and the most likely to commit suicide.

Blackhorse does not know what became of the 13-year-old Native American girl. She and other Native American Facebook users attempted to narrow down her location so as to reach out to her family or community leaders, but their attempts were in vain.

Blackhorse says she can only hope the young Native American girl chose life over death.

Simon Moya-Smith is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation and the culture editor at Indian Country Today.