"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

***"Shana Cozad, Nationally Known HIV/AIDS Activist"***

Shana Cozad, nationally known HIV/AIDS activist, will be one of the guest speakers at Cherokee Nation’s National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day event on March 26.

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma - Cherokee Nation, in observance of National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, will host a community program on March 26, from 10 a.m. to noon, in the Council Chambers of the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex.

Ellen Simmons from Claremore Indian Hospital will present an AIDS 101 training. Simmons currently serves as president of the Health, Education and Resource Training (HEART) Coalition. Also on hand will be Shana Cozad, a Kiowa citizen, who will tell the story of her personal journey of living with the AIDS virus. Cozad is a well-known AIDS activist, wife and mother of three, who challenges people to re-examine the stereotypes about who gets AIDS and how families and individuals are affected by it. She was recently awarded the Richard Shackleford Memorial Award for outstanding service and care within the HIV Community in Tulsa.

National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was started in 2007 to create a greater awareness of the risks of HIV/AIDS in Native communities. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, American Indians and Alaska Natives have the third highest rate of AIDS diagnoses in the United States, and often have the shortest time span of any group between diagnosis and death.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 918-207- 4977.