(WASHINGTON, DC) Indian Health Service (IHS) is holding another meeting to garner information from members of the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Two-Spirit community in an effort to advance and promote the health needs to Two-Spirit community.
This second meeting will be held on September 11, 2015 from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. EST at Health and Human Services (HHS) headquarters in the Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20201.
IHS is hosting this second meeting during the United State Conference on AIDS in hopes to increase community participation. IHS received criticism over the lack of proper community notification of their first listening session that was held on July, 27, 2015 at IHS headquarters in Bethesda, MD. The community were only given a four (4) day notice for this meeting. In an July 22, 2015 email to Robert G. McSwain, Acting Director of IHS, Sharon Day of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force said that, “…this is not enough time for me to make arrangements to travel to DC. I’m quite certain my fellow LGBTQ/Two Spirit relatives residing on tribal lands will have the same problems acquiring permission to travel from tribal agencies. Indeed, IHS employees would have difficulty. I wish to attend and to have my relatives participate in this historic exchange that we have waited for so long.”
The special meeting is open to the public. All attendees must RSVP to Lisa Neel at [email protected] or by telephone at 301-443-4305 no later than 5:00 pm EST on August 31, 2015. Attendance is limited to the space available. Members of the public may offer statements during the meeting to the extent time permits and submit written statements for IHS consideration. Written statements can be submitted to Lisa Neel.
The official notice of this meeting was published on 8/26/2015 in the Federal Register. For more information, contact Lisa Neel, MPH, Program Coordinator, Office of Clinical and Preventive Services, Indian Health Service, [email protected] or by telephone at 301-443-4305 or by mail, 801 Thompson Avenue, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852.