OBJECTIVES: High rates of suicide have been reported in different ethnic minorities. Some researchers suggest this sociological, anthropological and medical phenomenon is a major public health issue in Latin America. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of the literature in PubMed, Scopus, PsycNET and Scielo (the Latin American database). An additional search for “grey literature” was done in Scholar Google using suicide (and Spanish or Portuguese equivalents) associated with each Latin American country. The reference lists of all included articles were reviewed for any additional studies. Searches were carried out on March 2016. Articles were reviewed in full text. No language or publication date limits were applied. Only articles centered on or considering indigenous population were used for data extraction. Meta-analysis was not attempted due to heterogeneity of study characteristics, including study populations, study designs, and research methodology. Narrative synthesis was therefore used to analyze the extracted data. RESULTS: Initial searches identified 1862 potential references, of which 75 were selected for full-text review, 2 of which were not available. Data was extracted from 41 articles published between 1980 and 2015; 21 of them referred to Brazil, 13 to Colombia, 2 to Chile, 1 to Peru, while 4 additional articles included data from several Latin American countries. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide rates are high and have been apparently increasing over time, despite high underreporting and scarce scientific interest on the issue. Suicide mostly occurs in middle aged men, using hanging as most frequent method. Alcohol consumption is widely associated. Changes in lifestyles influenced by industrialization, environmental degradation, and cultural and religious invasion have affected indigenous groups, making them experience what has been described as “cultural death”. Mental health disorders in Latin American indigenous groups have not been studied in depth. Interventions have to incorporate their own traditions and beliefs.