App follows festival in fight against Indigenous youth suicide

A group of Indigenous elders in the Northern Territory is hoping a newly created app could help cut the youth-suicide rate of Indigenous Australians.

A smoking ceremony at a 2016 Indigenous suicide-prevention conference Source: AAP

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show suicide is the leading cause of death for Indigenous people between ages 15 and 34.

It happens at a rate nearly three times as high as that of their non-Indigenous counterparts.

The Northern Territory has the highest rate of Indigenous suicide in Australia.

Now, the latest initiative to fight it is being developed by a group of elders in the Lajamanu community of the Northern Territory.

An app called Kurdiji 1.0 is now under development after more than $180,000 was raised on the crowdfunding website Go Fund Me.

The app is coming from a remote community that has successfully avoided any deaths by suicide for 12 years.

It was after a young man killed himself in the small community in 2005 that the Warlpiri elders decided to act.

They created the Milpirri festival, aimed at engaging their young people in traditional culture to prevent the feelings of isolation which can lead to depression and suicide.