A&PI Wellness Center Commemorates the 4th Annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Sunrise Ceremony at San Francisco City Hall

At dawn on March 19, 2010, members from the American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian community members gathered to commemorate the 4th annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day at San Francisco City Hall with a Sunrise Ceremony. Leading off the commemoration was a drum circle followed by a Navajo prayer. Kumu Kãwika Keikiali’ihiwahiwa Alfiche then led traditional Hawaiian prayers and hula. The ceremony closed with attendees participating in a circle dance.

After the ceremony, a procession headed up Polk Street to A&PI Wellness Center for a continental breakfast reception. We showed a DVD, “Life So Far,” featuring the powerful stories of Ken Ward and Kecia Larkin, leaders in the Canadian Aboriginal HIV movement. Their stories are also available to view online.

The 4th annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was presented in collaboration with the following agencies:

Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits
www.baaits.org
(415) 865-5616
Native American AIDS Project
www.naap-ca.org
(415) 431-6227
Native American Health Center
www.nativehealth.org
(415) 621-8051