Throughout the conference, adolescents were joined by a host of community leaders, health specialists and members of the Tribal Business Council, along with special guest Shana Cozad, a motivational speaker and HIV survivor.

Red Fox Sanchez, the Tribal Health director for the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation of the Fort Berthold Reservation, expressed tremendous pride and excitement to see students coming together for a responsible cause.

“We had an excellent turnout,” Sanchez said. “It felt awesome to see the students highly engaged. When I was their age, we never had conferences. Sexually transmitted diseases and HIV went highly unspoken. Even today, HIV remains unspoken. So, to hear the students wanting to know how to protect themselves and wanting to become aware of the consequences is really great. I’m really glad to see the younger generation grab this by the horns and ask the questions head on.”

Cozad, an AIDS prevention educator, enlightened students about her personal struggles and triumphs as an HIV survivor.

Submitted Photo Shana Cozad, a motivational speaker and HIV and AIDS prevention educator, is an HIV survivor, who shared her story with students, community leaders and health specialists March 20, during Native American HIV and AIDS Awareness Day.

“Shana was an excellent speaker,” Sanchez said. “For many members of the audience, I think this was the first time they saw somebody who has AIDS. This was a reality check because she described what it was like when she was first diagnosed and the obstacles she has gone through having AIDS.”

As Cozad revealed accounts of her life-changing condition, students dismissed generalizations and embraced new insight about HIV and AIDS.

“I think when students saw her, they may have thought she would look different,” Sanchez said. “Some students believed she would look skinny but they saw someone who appeared physically healthy. Their response to Shana was great and they weren’t shy about asking her questions. All of the students took a liking to Shana as well as the adults. Shana made it clear, if you don’t protect yourself, there will be consequences.”

In addition to hearing from Cozad and an informative panel of specialists, students participated in interactive games and group activities.

“The HIV transmission game begins with a stack of marked cards,” Sanchez said. “The cards labeled with the letter x, z and o represented genital herpes, HIV and chlamydia. Students would go around the room, shake hands and get signatures. Some of the students had cards that read ‘do not follow my direction’ and others had a card with the letter c, which meant they wore condoms.”

At the end of the game, students who did not follow directions or were handed a card with the letter c, were either protected or reduced their risk of contracting a sexually transmitted diseases.

According to Sanchez, the purpose of the game was to show how easily sexually transmitted diseases can be contracted and to encourage students to talk to their health-care providers.

Before the youth conference came to a close, students received free HIV and hepatitis screenings.

“The response was great,” Sanchez said. “There was a long line and everyone wanted to know their status.”

At the closing of the event, a wealth of knowledge was distributed along with several prizes, which included two pairs of Bruno Mars tickets for an August concert.

“The conference was a great accomplishment,” Sanchez said. “This was awesome, especially since it was the first ever youth conference here at the Fort Berthold Reservation. … This is something I love to see and would love to keep on doing.”