Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 1, 2006 14:52:21 GMT -5
Group tells Indians about AIDS
By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer
5/22/2006
www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060522_Ne_A1_Group26168
<http://www.tulsaworld.com/TWPDFs/2006/Final/W_052206_A_1.PDF>
PAWNEE -- This town is home to a group that is working to raise
awareness about HIV/AIDS in American Indian communities.
PANI-HOPE -- from "Pani," the tribe's word for itself, and Helping
Others through Prevention and Education -- is one of three statewide
Indian coalitions doing such work at various American Indian events.
They sponsor health fairs, powwows and concerts to help draw their
target audience closer.
PANI-HOPE aims its message toward youths for practical reasons, said
Lilly Harms, a PANI-HOPE coalition member.
"We all know someone or is related to someone who has it (HIV/AIDS),"
she said. "I want my grandchildren to know how to make good choices."
Organizers work with the Association of American Indian Physicians in
Oklahoma City, which provides guidance and technical assistance to help
turn ideas into reality.
PANI-HOPE advocates abstinence as the best approach and safe sex as an
alternative, combined with spiritual and cultural awareness.
One of its strongest points is to encourage people to be tested for
HIV/AIDS, officials said.
"There's a lot of things we don't talk about, so we work toward breaking
down the fears of being tested," said Carol Young of the
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National Indian Women's Health Resource Center.
PANI-HOPE President Lillie Cummings said that among American Indians,
the incidence of HIV/AIDS is growing in alarming ways. She recently
returned from a national HIV/AIDS conference in Alaska, where she
learned some shocking trends in transmission.
"Our elders are becoming more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS," she said. "It is
happening that infected people may live at home with Grandma or Grandpa,
who are insulin-dependent, and (are) using their needles when they're
asleep and putting them back."
The numbers back Cummings' fears. According to the National Indian
Women's Health Resource Center, Oklahoma has 153 people classified as
Indian with HIV and 315 with AIDS.
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
By keeping a cultural and spiritual tone to their message, PANI-HOPE is
able to break down taboos surrounding HIV/AIDS, officials said.
A drum at the center of a powwow becomes a conduit for a life-giving
message.
A dozen young men from Pawnee High School sit around a new drum and
burst into the Pawnee language.
The group, Black Bear Creek, travels the powwow circuit with its songs,
said June Hamilton, a counselor at Pawnee Public Schools.
"This song says, 'Father, look down on your children,' " she said. "It's
the message we want to send to our youth: 'Know where you will be in
five years or 10 years, be safe, we care about you.' "
The assembled young men pound out the song. As it hangs in the air,
Hamilton smiles.
"Now when people hear this song, our message will be out there, because
we believe there's a lot of power in song," she said.
The other two Indian HIV/AIDS coalitions are in Anadarko and Miami,
Okla.
By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer
5/22/2006
www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060522_Ne_A1_Group26168
<http://www.tulsaworld.com/TWPDFs/2006/Final/W_052206_A_1.PDF>
PAWNEE -- This town is home to a group that is working to raise
awareness about HIV/AIDS in American Indian communities.
PANI-HOPE -- from "Pani," the tribe's word for itself, and Helping
Others through Prevention and Education -- is one of three statewide
Indian coalitions doing such work at various American Indian events.
They sponsor health fairs, powwows and concerts to help draw their
target audience closer.
PANI-HOPE aims its message toward youths for practical reasons, said
Lilly Harms, a PANI-HOPE coalition member.
"We all know someone or is related to someone who has it (HIV/AIDS),"
she said. "I want my grandchildren to know how to make good choices."
Organizers work with the Association of American Indian Physicians in
Oklahoma City, which provides guidance and technical assistance to help
turn ideas into reality.
PANI-HOPE advocates abstinence as the best approach and safe sex as an
alternative, combined with spiritual and cultural awareness.
One of its strongest points is to encourage people to be tested for
HIV/AIDS, officials said.
"There's a lot of things we don't talk about, so we work toward breaking
down the fears of being tested," said Carol Young of the
<script> document.write('<a
href="http://clk.atdmt.com/DNR/go/cnoccusc0280000009dnr/direct/01/"
target="_blank"><img
src="http://view.atdmt.com/DNR/view/cnoccusc0280000009dnr/direct/01/"/&g\
t;</a>'); </script><noscript><a
href="http://clk.atdmt.com/DNR/go/cnoccusc0280000009dnr/direct/01/"
target="_blank"><img border="0"
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/></a></noscript>
<http://adserver.tulsaworld.com/?SHT=NewsStory_336x280>
National Indian Women's Health Resource Center.
PANI-HOPE President Lillie Cummings said that among American Indians,
the incidence of HIV/AIDS is growing in alarming ways. She recently
returned from a national HIV/AIDS conference in Alaska, where she
learned some shocking trends in transmission.
"Our elders are becoming more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS," she said. "It is
happening that infected people may live at home with Grandma or Grandpa,
who are insulin-dependent, and (are) using their needles when they're
asleep and putting them back."
The numbers back Cummings' fears. According to the National Indian
Women's Health Resource Center, Oklahoma has 153 people classified as
Indian with HIV and 315 with AIDS.
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
By keeping a cultural and spiritual tone to their message, PANI-HOPE is
able to break down taboos surrounding HIV/AIDS, officials said.
A drum at the center of a powwow becomes a conduit for a life-giving
message.
A dozen young men from Pawnee High School sit around a new drum and
burst into the Pawnee language.
The group, Black Bear Creek, travels the powwow circuit with its songs,
said June Hamilton, a counselor at Pawnee Public Schools.
"This song says, 'Father, look down on your children,' " she said. "It's
the message we want to send to our youth: 'Know where you will be in
five years or 10 years, be safe, we care about you.' "
The assembled young men pound out the song. As it hangs in the air,
Hamilton smiles.
"Now when people hear this song, our message will be out there, because
we believe there's a lot of power in song," she said.
The other two Indian HIV/AIDS coalitions are in Anadarko and Miami,
Okla.