"Gathering Dust Not Saving Lives": The Call for Texts Which Honestly and Straightforwardly Teach Aboriginal Children about Hiv/aids and Other Important Issues

Abstract / Resume In 2003, William Lindsay was contracted by the British Columbia Health Ministry, Disease Control Division to write two texts which were to teach Aboriginal children in the BC school system about HIV/AIDS. The fast spread of this illness in the Aboriginal community highlighted the need for such work to be done. However, Mr. Lindsay's texts, which were bluntly honest and candid in their explanations, were rejected by the ministry only to be replaced by a more superficial work which did little in its all-important main body to truly educate Aboriginal children about the how's and why's of this destructive disease. This paper documents Mr. Lindsay's journey through the above process and his feelings of frustration in asking why the system fails in being upfront and honest with our already streetwise and savvy kids, when discussion about such important life and death issues takes place. En 2003, William Lindsay a ete recrute par la division de la lutte contre les maladies du ministere de la Sante de la Colombie-Britannique pour rediger deux documents concus pour sensibiliser au VIH et au SIDA les jeunes autochtones qui frequentent les ecoles de la province. La propagation rapide de la maladie dans les collectivites autochtones a souligne la necessite d'une telle activite. Toutefois, les textes de M. Lindsay, qui contenaient des explications carrement honnetes et franches, ont ete refuses par le ministere et remplaces par un ouvrage plus superficiel qui presentait peu de renseignements dans l'important corps du texte pour informer reellement les enfants autochtones du pourquoi et du comment de cette maladie destructrice. L'article presente le cheminement de M. Lindsay au cours de cette periode et son sentiment de frustration et demande pourquoi le systeme n'est pas plus franc et honnete a l'egard d'enfants qui sont deja adaptes a la rue et avises lorsqu'on discute de questions de vie et de mort si importantes. In 2003, I was working as a college professor in a Vancouver, British Columbia Aboriginal post secondary institution. I was also fresh off the publication of a series of newspaper articles, an academic paper, and a children's short story book. In this context, I was approached by a representative of British Columbia's Ministry of Health, Disease Control Division and was asked if I was interested in writing a text or texts which would be used to teach Aboriginal children about issues surrounding HIV/AIDS. The purpose was to reach such ones while young and assist them in becoming aware of this terrible disease and its consequences. Prevention was to be a keystone philosophy of the project. Such education is badly needed. HIV/AIDS is spreading so fast in Canada's Aboriginal population, that it has been referred to numerous times in various mediums as the second smallpox. In parts of Vancouver, British Columbia-usually in the poorer areas where Aboriginal families live-it is also becoming increasingly common to find used condoms and needles carelessly left about in public places. Such are even found on school playgrounds, where the janitor has to carefully go through a daily ritual of making sure that all such items are carefully cleaned up before the kids arrive. As such items are potentially contaminated by life-threatening diseases, it is good that kids be educated about what these are and what they should do if they find them. Children and teenagers today are also increasingly savvy about issues surrounding human sexuality. The age of one's first sexual experience is dropping and overall sexual activity is becoming more widespread among the young. This is no surprise to myself or to other teachers working in the system. I knew of one instance where a youthful grade six girl spent the weekend with a boyfriend. The whole class was privy to this knowledge and freely talked about it. A teacher attending graduate school, casually mentioned to our class that the school where she worked had recently had to deal with a herpes outbreak. …

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