Press Releases

Native Currents: Marking AIDS awareness in Native America
Indian Country Today
By Jack C. Jackson Jr.
Mar 18, 2010

Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, nearly 3,500 American Indians/Alaska Natives have been diagnosed with the disease and approximately half of our brothers and sisters have passed on from it. We have the third highest rate of new HIV infections in the country after African Americans and Latinos. Sadly, we have the shortest survival rate.

March 20 marks the fourth annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This single day, the first day of spring, has been set aside each year to bring awareness to HIV and AIDS specifically in American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities.

The four seasons are highly respected in many cultures because they so closely represent the cycle of life. Spring represents a time of equality and balance. It is a time of profound change, new beginnings and birth. This day is not simply tied to a numbered box on a calendar, but to nature and the natural cycle of growth and renewal. And to further perpetuate this notion, an underlying and ongoing theme of “A Celebration of Life” was chosen to accompany the day.

This day will challenge us to work together, in harmony, to create a greater awareness of the risk of HIV/AIDS to our Native communities, to call for resources for testing and early detection and for increased treatment options, and to eventually decrease the occurrence of HIV/AIDS among Native people. It is a time to reflect on those who have passed and who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS today. The Awareness Day encourages Native communities to learn more, educate others and take action against HIV/AIDS and its impact.

Every ethnic and racial group in America has been affected by HIV/AIDS, but individual experiences, impacts, responses, and the legacy of the disease are distinctively different. This day is a day that brings national attention to the plight of Native communities and their struggles against the epidemic.

The National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was organized and implemented in 2006 by the Colorado State University’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. and the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center. Since then, it has grown and more events have been held across the country.

This year, there have been 73 events reported to be happening in at least 28 different states. Efforts include pow wows, health fairs, special guest speakers, news editorials, radio interviews, outreach events, memorial runs and informational presentations. National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2010 is financially supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, IHS and the Office on Women’s Health.

On Feb. 2, I was sworn in to serve on the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS along with 24 other individuals. I am the only Native American to be appointed to this council. The council provides advice, information and recommendations to the secretary of Health and Human Service regarding programs and policies intended to promote effective prevention of HIV, and to advance research on HIV disease and AIDS.

 
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Jack Jackson, Jr. Op-ed
Navajo Times
By Jack Jackson, Jr.
August 13, 2009

The Diné, for countless generations, have been the caretakers of Nahasdzáá Shimá, our Mother Earth, and her precious gifts. It is our sacred responsibility to ensure future generations can enjoy and care for a healthy and prosperous planet. The Navajo Nation took one step closer to that goal with our first-ever clean energy legislation recently adopted by the Navajo Nation Council.

This landmark bill establishes the Navajo Nation Green Economy Commission, which will secure funds for clean energy projects through various private, state and federal grants. It creates an opportunity for Navajo to be a part of the transition to a clean energy economy. For too long, Native tribes have been locked out of the clean energy movement and now we can begin taking steps to do our part in securing a flourishing planet.

While the nation’s unemployment rate is already at 9.5 percent, the staggeringly high unemployment rate among the Diné currently sits around 44 percent. Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy will allow us to use the largesse of nature to provide clean power that protects those gifts, while also providing new and clean economic opportunities.

The economic backbone of the Navajo Nation has been historically entrenched in dirty energy like coal and uranium mining. Clean energy investments bring about the opportunity for us to break free from these energy sources, which pollutes the air we breathe and the water we drink, going against the work of our people to protect Mother Earth. We have a unique relationship with the land, and turning away from energy sources that destroy it is intrinsic to our core belief system. Science also tells us now it is more important than ever we move away from entrenched energy sources in order to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change.

The 26,000 square miles of our homeland span three states that are rich in clean, abundant and renewable resources like wind and solar. Arizona's sunshine can provide 100 times more electricity than is needed by the entire state. The state ranks No. 1 in the nation for concentrating solar thermal power potential, and with today's technology, Arizona's geothermal resources can power more than 600,000 homes. New Mexico's solar resources could be harnessed to produce three times the state's current electric power production; its wind resources could produce more than three times the state's current electricity generation and is enough to power 11 million U.S. homes. It only makes sense to harness this potential to power our homes with clean energy, but even more so for the economic opportunities borne from clean energy.

Climate change is real and we are already beginning to feel the effects. The warming in the Southwest is among the most rapid in the nation. If no action is taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions, average temperatures in the region are projected to rise 4° F to 10° F by the 2080s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Such temperature increases will put added pressure on already stressed water supplies and provide for severe droughts, bringing further economic devastation to the region.

The hard work of the Navajo Green Economy Coalition and the recent actions of the Navajo Nation Council will set forth long-term solutions to our economic and environmental woes and give Navajo people the opportunity to participate in and benefit from the transition toward a clean energy economy. More importantly, it will further Diné values of preserving our Mother Earth.

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