HIV advocate says Saskatchewan is decades behind

Lynn Thompson has been living with HIV for almost 17 years.

Thompson had been struggling to adjust to life in a First Nations community, and followed the lead of a partner who was shooting up to get high. Her partner was also HIV positive, but kept it secret.

"I chose to fight. I've been doing that ever since," she told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

Thompson is now a strong advocate for people living with HIV in Saskatchewan, working with the group Essential Voices. She is again speaking up on a day when CBC News is reporting on the alarmingly high rates of HIV in First Nations communities in Saskatchewan.  

"We are hurting people so we look for quick solutions," Thompson said.

In fact, she said the medical community shares at least some of the blame for high HIV rates because most of the drugs being abused on First Nations are sourced through legitimate prescriptions.

"A lot of our people are still suffering from the residential and '60s scoop. Rather than prescribing drugs all the time I think we need to traditionally go back to our elders and work together and be proud again, proud people."

Thompson suggested that Saskatchewan is decades behind other parts of the world in HIV treatment and that it amounts to a shorter life for sufferers here. She recalls one year where almost 200 of her friends died of HIV related illnesses.

Still, she said, her choice remains to fight.

"I will die defending people like myself living with HIV."

"They are still part of the society; they are not throwaway people."