Article Date: 29 Aug 2008 - 3:00 PDT

In a historically unprecedented move, over 30 national HIV/AIDS organizations and leaders representing African-American, Latino, Native American/Alaska Native, and Asian & Pacific Islander communities have joined forces in an urgent call for the development and implementation of a comprehensive national AIDS strategy. The demands to the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees come in response to long-standing concerns about unmet needs for targeted HIV research, treatment access, medical care and prevention in communities of color. A recently-released report from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on estimates of new HIV infections in the United States amplifies the crises faced in communities of color.

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By MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press Writer Friday, August 29, 2008 2:08 AM MDT

WASHINGTON — Almost 12 percent of the deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives are alcohol-related — more than three times the percentage in the general population, a new federal report says.

The report released Thursday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found 11.7 percent of deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives between 2001 and 2005 were alcohol-related, compared with 3.3 percent for the U.S. as a whole.

Dwayne Jarman, a CDC epidemiologist who works for the Indian Health Service and is one of the study’s authors, said it is the first national survey that measures American Indian deaths due to alcohol. It should be a “call to action” for federal, state, local and tribal governments, he said.

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http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/healthdisparities/what_cdc_is_doing/aiansupplement.htm

Author: CDC
Published on Aug 21, 2008 - 7:32:37 AM

Aug. 20, 2008 - CDC released the most comprehensive cancer data available for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) across the United States. Cancer incidence rates, especially lung and colorectal, among AI/AN men and women varied greatly across six geographic regions of the country (Alaska, East, Northern Plains, Pacific Coast, Southern Plains, and Southwest). The data was analyzed from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries, the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results and linkage to the Indian Health Services records. These findings, “Cancer Incidence in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Populations” were published online today and appearing in the September 1, 2008, supplement of Cancer.

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http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/coquille_tribe_will_sanction_s.html
by Bill Graves, The Oregonian

COOS BAY — Kitzen and Jeni Branting have been in a committed lesbian relationship since high school and plan to get legally married in Oregon next spring.

Yes, in Oregon.

True, voters amended the state Constitution constitution in 2004 to allow marriage only between only a man and a woman. And Congress outlawed gay marriage more than a decade ago.

But Kitzen Branting, 25, is a member of the Coquille Indian Tribe on the southern Oregon coast.

As a federally recognized sovereign nation, the tribe is not bound by the Oregon’s Constitution. The tribe recently adopted a law that recognizes same-sex marriage and extends to gay and lesbian partners, at least one of whom must be a Coquille, all tribal benefits of marriage.

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NE2SS has been invited to be part of “Out at Plimoth Plantation” next month! Harlan Pruden and Kent Lebsock will be headed out to Wampanoag territory to offer a discussion on Two-Spirits. Check out the write-up in Outtraveler.com:

Celebrate Thanksgiving early and get a real taste of what LGBT life was like back in the 17th century at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

On September 13, the museum will host “Out at Plimoth Plantation,” a one-day celebration of homosexual history and 17th century tolerance. At 2 p.m., a museum expert will present “We’ve Come A Long Way Baby,” a lecture taken from a colonial perspective. Then, at 3 p.m., two guest lecturers will present “Two-Spirit Is Better Than One,” a recounting of sex, gender and sexuality in Native American society. A traditional Thanksgiving meal tops off the day of historical edification.

Or if you just want to know more about Massachusetts, check out our Three Gay Days: Boston feature.

(This article originally posted August 15, 2008 at http://gps.outtraveler.com/2008/08/out-at-plimoth.html
Story by Brandon Miller; photo credit Getty Images)

You can find more information about Plimoth Plantation here: http://www.plimoth.org/