Module 1: Native Cultures

Goal of Module 1: To provide a cultural background for your HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention program.

There are many layers of diversity within any culture. When learning about Native cultures, it is important to acknowledge the differences between various tribes, nations, villages, and islands. These differences can occur among groups within a single geographical region or across various regions. Although it is impossible to learn the unique characteristics of each Native entity, it is possible to recognize and better understand a specific group’s customs, norms, beliefs, and values in order to gain a distinct cultural perspective.
Contents 7 Homelands

This module discusses the role of culture in HIV/AIDS prevention, intervention, and care.

It includes information on:

  1. Native Cultural Diversity


  2. Traditionalism


  3. Spiritual and Religious Beliefs


  4. Healing/Healthcare


  5. Worldview


  6. Social Structure


  7. Homelands


  8. Language


  9. Nutrition

Native peoples are integrally tied to their homelands. Although half of the Native population lives in cities,7 many Native people migrate back and forth to their homelands for work, ceremonies, and to visit family and friends. This traveling increases the risk of HIV infection, especially by HIV-positive Native people who may not know their status. Understanding your community’s relationship to Native homelands will help you identify the potential paths of HIV infection.

  • Consider the state of your Native community. Is it rural or urban? Is your tribe or the tribe you work with federally recognized, state recognized, or is it seeking recognition?
    • You can check to see if your tribe or the tribe you work with is federally recognized here.
    • You can find a list of state recognized and unrecognized tribes here.
  • Consider why your community members have chosen to live where they do. (For example, some HIV-positive Native people live in urban areas to access specialized and anonymous healthcare and to escape discrimination.)

CASE IN POINT:
The Northwest AIDS Education and Training Center’s Tribal BEAR Project produced a video called “Community Support is Strong Medicine” in 2002. The video tells the story of three people living with HIV in Native American communities. In one of the stories, a man describes how a single person who had HIV/AIDS transmitted the virus to “at least twenty people on the reservation.” Because no one was tested regularly, the virus easily spread throughout the community.

7 National Council of Urban Indian Health. The NCUIH page. Available at: http://www.ihs.gov/NonMedicalPrograms/Urban/ncuih. Accessed February 14, 2007.