Taking Action! Art and Aboriginal Youth for HIV Prevention

Module 3: Blog #3

Website: http://www.takingaction4youth.org/

The Taking Action! Project: Art and Aboriginal Youth Leadership for HIV Prevention (TAP) is a national project working with Aboriginal youth and communities across Canada. This site links together digital stories, with youth art, communities and resources/ information on HIV to initiate a proactive approach to HIV prevention. The site creates awareness that HIV affects Indigenous youth and communities at higher rates across Canada. Furthermore, the site supports and offers workshops supported by Elders within communities and online that deconstruct and/ or unpacks the inequalities within Indigenous communities, HIV risk and culture. The proactive approach links Elders to active youths as a building block in HIV prevention.

Although this site is not directly linked to my project, it is another example of a proactive Indigenous voice that reconnects youth to their culture, by doing something for their communities. Also, this site connects the inequalities of created by colonialism, to a higher HIV rate in Indigenous commities to the videos of hope seen in this weeks readings. I would further agrue that Residental Schools play a role in the disconnection and higher HIV rates.

Additional Links: There is a vast amount of resources found within this site stretching to all corners of Canada.

The Canadian Aborginal Aids Network: http://www.caan.ca/

The Vancouver Native Health Society: http://www.vnhs.net/

Also the site uses oral history, for advocacy of Indigenous rights and taking action against the spread of HIV. I watched a few of the videos, but was most move by Renee’s story. How her childhood heritage was hidden from here as a Metis, to protect her from the stereotypes surrounding her heritage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yLWyCO7Yw-A#at=51