A manual review of death certificates and autopsy records identified 195 suicides in Alaska during 1983-84. Native males, 20-24 years old, had the highest rate of suicide (257 per 100,000 person-years). Gunshot wounds caused 76 per cent of all suicide deaths; 79 per cent of Native and 48 per cent of White suicides had detectable levels of blood alcohol. Suicide by firearms was weakly associated with blood alcohol levels above 100 mg/dl (odds ratio 1.3, 95 per cent confidence interval 1.11-1.47).