Here’s another two spirit webinar hosted by Community of Practice. Go to SAMHSA Suicide Prevention Grantee Archived Webinars 2011 and look at the materials under “Tribal Learning Collaborative- Supporting & Outreaching to Our Native LGBTQQ/Two-Spirit Youth Presentation” (7/11/11). The two presenters are Karina Walter and Sharon Day.
News update posted Nov. 10, 2011
by Kate Sosin, Windy City Times
2011-11-16
http://www.windycitytimes.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=34727
The U.S. Conference on AIDS, held this year in Chicago for the first time, opened with a welcoming plenary breakfast that featured major names in HIV/AIDS prevention.
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services headlined the morning.
But the moment that left many talking later in the day was a protest that interrupted the introduction of Sebelius. As Sebelius was announced with much fanfare, a large group of protesters with posters marched out and stole the microphone.
The group, protesting on behalf of Asian Pacific Islanders, demanded that their voices be heard in HIV prevention. They came bearing signs that read “Our Lives Matter.”
“We cannot to wait,” said Sharon Day of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force. “We, the first Americans, can no longer be the last in line for funding.”
(more…)
October 4-5, 2001, NE2SS’ Harlan Pruden and Ben Geboe were joined by some of the leaders of the Two-Spirit Society of Denver, Amiee Wilson, Hiram Calf-Looking and Nate Jarosch, in Rapid City, SD to lend their support to the “Two-Spirit Then and Now: Reclaiming Our Place of Honor.” This is training based on the publication: Provider’s Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Individuals and was offered and supported by the Prairieland Addiction Transfer Technology Center.
The training was well attended with 24 attendees from tribal, academic, and IHS clinics; reservation based hospital staff; representatives of the Administration of Health and Human Services; and local community leaders. The training enhanced the knowledge of participants and built skills so that sensitive, affirmative, culturally relevant, and effective treatment may be offered to LGBT/Two-Spirit individuals struggling with substance use disorders.
It was also a goal of both the leadership of the NorthEast Two-Spirit Society and the Two-Spirit Society of Denver that this greatly needed endeavor will be the first of many Two-Spirit trainings offered in the Dakotas. It was also NY and Denver’s hope that this work will result in the founding of a Two-Spirit Society somewhere in the North or South Dakotas. Because of Denver’s relative closeness to South Dakota, as compared to NYC, they have offered to be a local resource for the attendees and NE2SS would also be available to help but more in an electronic capacity.
This training in Rapid City was a part of a larger initiative by the University of Iowa’s Prairieland Addiction Transfer Technology Center. This training is the last in a series offered in North and South Dakotas. In September, Harlan and Ben traveled to Bismarck, ND and conducted this training at United Tribes Technology College and then in Sioux Falls, SD. Similar to the Rapid City training, both were well attended and participants were engaged and expressed the need for more information on Two-Spirit people, so they can be better frontline service providers when working with their Two-Spirit communities.
You are invited to the “Indigenous Reproductive and Sexual Health, Rights and JUSTICE” Gathering! FREE EVENT - REGISTRATION REQUIRED
This will be a day to celebrate the amazing work that is being done for and by Indigenous people towards reproductive and sexual health, rights and justice! Speakers will include a wide range of Indigenous people working in the area of sexual/reproductive health, rights and justice globally as well as interactive sessions, performances and arts based activities. There will be food, performances, art and opportunities to network with each other. [download pdf flyer]
Where: Church Center for the United Nations, 777 UN Plaza, New York City, near 1st avenue and 44th street. (open to the general public)
When: Saturday, May 21 10am-4pm
Who: Anyone working in reproductive and sexual health, Indigenous peoples (Two-Spirit, Trans, gender non-conforming inclusive) organizations working within these issues, people attending the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues. Everyone welcome!
Please register with Krysta Williams [kwilliams@nativeyouthsexualhealth.com] with the following information (or download and use the Word registration form):
The Office of Minority Health Resource Center is in the process of developing American Indian/Alaska Native Youth related digital educational materials. Along with our partners, Kat Communications, and the IHS HIV Program, we are seeking American Indian and Alaska Native artists that can portray regional and cultural areas. We are accepting ALL styles and themes of American Indian/Alaska Native Art. Traditional, contemporary, alternative process, digital, mix processes, and experimental works are welcome. All art must be original and appropriate for conversion to a digital format. Please send us a one paragraph biography, and details about the type of art work you create to artists@katcommunications.com.
Deadline: February 18, 2011. Once chosen to work on the project, artists will be compensated. Additional Questions? Contact artists@katcommunications.com or Evonne Bennett-Barnes at ebennett@minorityhealth.hhs.gov.
NorthEast Two-Spirit Society thanks Somjen Frazer, a Researcher and Evaluation Consultant and the New York State Department of Health’s AIDS Institute for their work on the first-ever State-wide Needs Assessment for the Native Two-Spirit community titled - Reclaiming Our Voices: Two Spirit Health & Human Service Needs in New York State.
In addition to this being a first for the great State of New York, it is also the first of its kind in the country!
Download a copy of the ground breaking report [PDF].
Over the coming weeks, the NorthEast Two-Spirit Society will feature some of the findings of this report on our site.
For more information contact either:
Harlan Pruden - harlan@ne2ss.org
Somjen Frazer - consulting@somjenfrazer.com or visit her site at http://somjenfrazer.com
July 13, 2010
The NorthEast Two-Spirit Society applauds the release of the NHAS and the following quote:
Another challenge for policy makers is how to appropriately respond to HIV in communities that represent a small share of the U.S. population… In addition, when the size of the population is taken into account, American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have ranked third behind Blacks and Latinos in rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Although we must focus our national efforts in those communities with the highest numbers of new infections, targeted surveillance efforts must continue to be supported in localities with concentrations of AAPI and Native American communities.
- Page 13 of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy
The NorthEast Two-Spirit looks forward to working towards the day that HIV/AIDS no longer takes undue toll on our community. “Now that we have a plan, we have to turn our attention to the implementation of it and to ensure resources are there to support it. A plan without recourses is like a promise without any follow through.” Harlan Pruden, co-founder and council member of NorthEast Two-Spirit Society.
The National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) was released on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at a White House reception. The vision for a national strategy is a concise plan for moving the country forward. Predicated on building on what is currently being done, it will identify a small number of high payoff action steps that need to be taken to achieve each of the President’s goals. The strategy will provide a roadmap for policymakers and the general public. It is anticipated that the strategy will clearly describe the areas that require the most immediate change, the specific action steps that must be taken by the Federal Government and a variety of stakeholders, and specific targets for measuring our progress toward achieving the President’s goals.
Dec. 4, 2009
Starting in the summer of 2009, the Office National AIDS Policy (ONAP) began engaging the community on the development of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). ONAP traveled the country listening to Americans recount their experiences with HIV and their strategic recommendations for achieving the President’s goals. There are three primary goals for the NHAS:
More than 4,200 people attended the 14 HIV/AIDS community discussions held in the following communities, where ONAP listened to their recommendations for the strategy.
Cissy Elm, the Director of the American Indian Community House’s HIV/AIDS program and NE2SS’ Harlan Pruden, testified at the town hall held on Dec. 4, 2009 in New York City. Here is a video of Cissy and Harlan taken after their testified. Read their full testimonies. [PDF].
White House Meeting Photo (left to right): Kory Montoya (Jicarilla Apache), Jeffery Crowley (Director ONAP), Melvin Harrison (Navajo), Carolyn Kuali`i (Native Hawaiian/Apache), Pamela Jumper Thurman (Western Cherokee), Kimberly Teehee (Obama’s Senior Policy Advisor for NA Affairs/Cherokee), Harlan Pruden (Cree) and Sharon Day (Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe)
WASHIGNTON, DC – MAY 4, 2010 – After twenty-nine years into the HIV epidemic a federal inter-agency meeting was held with Indigenous Peoples. This historical meeting focused solely on Native HIV/AIDS issues with representatives of a National Coalition of 30 American Indian, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian HIV/AIDS community-based organizations and programs. This meeting discussed the need for Native inclusion in HIV funding, programs and service priorities. The Coalition’s overall objectives were to bring a Native face and voice to the domestic HIV epidemic: A face that has been invisible and a voice that has not been heard as a result of poor Native HIV/AIDS data collection. The Office of Minority Health Resource Center facilitated this meeting, which was attended by: Indian Health Service (IHS); Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the National Institute of Health (NIH); the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD).