Vancouver, BC – The Star in Your Own Stories project is entering its fourth year engaging Aboriginal youth in BC to create their own positive sexual health campaign. This year, youth from the Nak'azdli Band near Fort St James will transform themselves into film makers and advocates for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexual health awareness.
Star in Your Own Stories is a creative and engaging sexual health awareness project funded and organized by Chee Mamuk, the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Aboriginal HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Program. The project will provide 10 to 15 First Nations youth, ranging from ages 13 to 18, with resources to create their own positive sexual health campaign, including an educational DVD and promotional materials. Chee Mamuk has contracted Vancouver-based Good Company Communications to assist with direction of the DVD and promotional materials. Other project partners include the Sto:lo Nation and the BCCDC Outreach Nursing Program.
While Star in Your Own Stories may have a fun setting, the project is being implemented at a particularly crucial time. “Aboriginal people in BC, and indeed across Canada, are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS,” points out Melanie Rivers, Manager of Chee Mamuk Program. “While we make up approximately five percent of the total BC population, we represented just over 13 percent of all new HIV infections last year. Given these statistics, it’s all the more urgent that we support young people who can provide peer education.”
The project team was in the Nak'azdli Territory on October 2nd to 4th to train the youth on how to use cameras and other film making equipment, and provide education on HIV and STI prevention. Youth looked at underlying risks that can lead to HIV, and created positive messages that address sexual health issues.
“This is the fourth year that we’ve run this project, and we’ve found that film is a great way to communicate and a fun way to explore a serious issue,” explains Jada-Gabrielle Pape, Chee Mamuk Educator. “This project engages youth and the community more than a typical workshop, and allows the youth to see how these issues are relevant to their own lives. The youth are proud of the positive message campaigns they create that are designed to model change.”
Last year, the project worked with Sto:lo youth to produce “Strong Path”, a film that presented a positive message about relationships, communication, community, and staying strong.
This year, Chee Mamuk is partnering with Taking Action, Art and Aboriginal Youth Leadership for HIV Prevention. Taking Action is a National research project that aims to involve Aboriginal youth as HIV prevention leaders, using both traditional art forms and new media approaches.
The Chee Mamuk program is a particularly renowned success story of the BCCDC, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. Besides Star in Your Own Stories, Chee Mamuk programs and projects include “Around the Kitchen Table”, which focuses on Aboriginal women’s health issues, and “The Gathering Tree,” a children’s book about HIV/AIDS awareness that is being used by health and education programs in several countries around the world.
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