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.”
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Listen to an important HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Public Service Announcement.

March 20, 2011 marked the fifth annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NNHAAD). This day is an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on Native people. HIV/AIDS continues to grow in the US, affecting communities of color at a disproportionate rate. According to the 2008 Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Surveillance Report, Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders (22.8 per 100,000) and American Indians/Alaskan Natives (11.9 per 100,000) have the 3rd and 4th highest rates of new HIV infections. Furthermore, the diagnosis for HIV infection and AIDS rates increased from 2005 through 2008 among American Indians/Alaska Natives.

The purpose of this day is to: 1) encourage Native people to get educated and to learn more about HIV/AIDS and its impact in their community; 2) work together to encourage testing options and HIV counseling in Native communities; and 3) help decrease the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. It is a time to reflect on those who have passed as well as those who are currently infected and affected by HIV/AIDS - a “Celebration of Life” for all Native people.

The NorthEast Two-Spirit Society is a proud supporter of this day. At the top of this article is a link to a public service announcement that is specifically designed for the two-spirit community.

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Here is a transcript of the PSA:

Nad’le, wink’te, Ba’de, Iha’mana, adanvdo tali, He eman, s’kweakwan, or a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender Native American or First Nations, whatever name you call yourself - we are all proud two-spirit brothers and sisters. Knowing our traditions, culture and history is the only way we are going to restore our rightful place of honor and respect within our communities. Everything begins with you. That is why it is so important that we need to protect ourselves from diseases like HIV, so we will have better tomorrows for all the future generations. Take the test, and know your status.

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.

• Download the National HIV/AIDS Strategy [PDF]
• Download the National HIV/AIDS Strategy Implementation Plan [PDF]

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:

• Reducing HIV incidence
• Increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes
• Reducing HIV-related health disparities

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)

[Download New Release PDF]

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).

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Cause of H1N1 Mortality Related to Ongoing Overall Health Disparities

WASHINGTON, DC - A study recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showed that Native Americans and Alaska Natives are four times more likely to die from H1N1 than members of other racial and ethnic groups. This is of particular concern for Native American and Alaska Native adults and adolescents living with HIV - especially those with low CD4 cell counts or AIDS - since people living with HIV may experience more severe complications from seasonal influenza and, quite possibly, H1N1 infection.

“This latest epidemic is just one more disease Native peoples have had to endure,” says Harlan Pruden, Co-Founder and Council Member of NorthEast Two-Spirit Society, based in New York City, and member of the National People of Color HIV/AIDS Working Group (POC). “The unspoken sad reality is that the death of one person could mean the death of one’s people. For Native people, this is a matter of cultural survival. We call on allies, policy-makers, and private and public leaders to stand with our community at this time to confront not only H1N1, but many of the underlying co-factors that create an environment where a simple flu can wipe us from this land.”

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If you haven’t already read it, be sure to check out the latest issue of POZ Magazine. NE2SS elder Kent Lesbock(pictured above) is quoted in the article “Rest for the Weary“.

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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