Linking 'White oppression' and HIV/AIDS in American Indian etiology: conspiracy beliefs among MSMs and their peers.
This article presents the results of a pilot study on the use of conspiracy beliefs by American Indian (AI) men who have sex with men and their peers to explain the origins of HIV/AIDS. We found that one-third (N = 15) of the individuals surveyed believed that HIV/AIDS was intentionally created by "Whites, White Christians, or the Federal government" and purposely spread among minority populations. Conspiracy beliefs, we argue, should be looked at as a potential form of power recognition where AIs draw on their experiences of oppression to explain the presence of HIV/AIDS within their communities, at the same time that they draw on public health knowledge to explain how humans get HIV/AIDS. We advocate further research to better ascertain the eff ect that conspiracy beliefs have on HIV prevention and the treatment of individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
Gilley
Brian Joseph
BJ
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA. bgilley@uvm.edu
Keesee
Marguerite
M
D000328:Adult; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012933:Social Identification; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States