Guest speaker Sylvia McAdam addresses delegates as keynote speaker. Photo by Dean Bear.
A two-day conference that started on Tuesday in Saskatoon is providing HIV-positive people with the coping tools and support mechanisms to deal with HIV on a daily basis.
Margaret Poitras is the CEO of All Nations Heath Network (ANHN) and said the virus is being driven in Saskatchewan by people who are living with addictions and the trauma of in residential schools and colonization.
She said those root causes for Indigenous people with HIV must be addressed.
“As Indigenous people, we feel we have the solution for what we are faced with, so as we move forward we to ensure we are incorporating native teachings, traditions, ceremonies and language.”
Poitra said there are counselors on hand at the conference, which provides a safe place for HIV-positive attendees to receive added support while facing their challenges.
“It’s one of laws as Indigenous people to take care of one another as we move forward,” she said.
She said all government-funded agencies need to ‘Indigenize’ their services so Aboriginal people feel comfortable walking through their doors, and NAHN is willing to work with health districts and agencies to make that possible.
Statistics from the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network show http://caan.ca/ Indigenous people in Canada are three times more likely to contract HIV than non-Indigenous people. The Network says drug use is an important risk factor for HIV transmission among Aboriginal people.