First Native American Youth Conference on HIV Prevention to be Held
Youth will gather early next month for what is believed to be the first national conference for Native American youth on AIDS and HIV awareness and prevention.
Youth will gather early next month for what is believed to be the first national conference for Native American youth on AIDS and HIV awareness and prevention.
"There has never been a conference for Native American youth on AIDS and HIV awareness," said the Rev. Alvin Deer, executive director of the Native American International Caucus (NAIC) of the United Methodist Church, according to the United Methodist News Service.
“Native P.R.O.U.D.,” which will be held on Apr. 6-8 in Oklahoma City, will focus on prevention, responsibility, ownership, understanding and determination as keys to help native young people make wise decisions regarding risky behavior.
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The event is sponsored by the NAIC and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is funded through a 2003 faith-based grant received from the Institute for Youth Development in Washington to support “at-risk” youth through a nationwide youth network.
The NAIC was the first Native-American denominational ministry to receive funding from President Bush’s faith-based and community initiative program.
According to Deer, Native youths have the second-highest incidence of sexually transmitted disease in America.
"If one youth becomes HIV infected, it puts the whole community at risk," Deer said. "We feel that this potential community endangerment is more dangerous to our communities than, say, us worrying whether the bird flu will come to America.
The three-day conference welcomes church leaders, tribal youth program staff, health professionals working in native communities, tribal leaders and church leaders. It will not only include Christian native youths but also those on reservations and in rural communities where AIDS and HIV infections are high too.
“With high rates of broken homes on Indian reservations and in Indian rural communities, there are few positive voices out there saying ‘You can make a healthy choice for your life,’" Deer said.
"I also firmly believe that this voice must be coming from our churches," he added. "We can't just be 'preaching stations' urging young people to make a decision for Christ without also preaching a message of 'abundant living.'
"Being 'Native P.R.O.U.D.' means you take pride in who you are as a person," stated Deer. "God made native people as a distinct and unique people in the whole world. We have a heritage that is something to be proud of, not only culturally but historically. We have a lot to be proud of as a contemporary person."
