Google celebrates Barbara May Cameron's 69th birth anniversary with a special doodle. Cameron, born on May 22 1954 is a Native American photographer, poet, writer, and human rights activist remembered for her passionate writing and speeches. Sienna Gonzales, an LGBT Mexican and Chitimachan artist, created this doodle artwork (below) to commemorate Barbara’s 69th birthday.
Source: Google Doodle
Who is Barbara May Cameron?
Barbara May Cameron was born on the 22nd of May, 1954. She was a Hunkpapa Lakota from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Fort Yates band. Her Lakota name was Wia Washte Wi, which stands for 'woman or a good woman.' After finishing her elementary and secondary education, she studied photography and film at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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Achievements and Awards
Cameron relocated to San Francisco in 1973 after coming out as a lesbian and pushed for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the Native American community as well as addressed racism in queer spaces. She was actively involved in a variety of programmes to enhance human well-being.
She became the executive director of Community United Against Violence, where she helped victims of hate crimes and domestic abuse. Cameron was appointed to the Citizens Committee on Community Development and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission by the mayor of San Francisco in 1988, and the next mayor appointed her to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Barbara was also involved with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the American Indian AIDS Institute, working as a consultant for the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centres for Disease Control in the early 1990s, assisting with AIDS and childhood immunisation programmes. Some of her notable activities and accomplishments include:
- Cameron co-founded the first gay American Indian liberation organization, Gay American Indians.
- During the span of 5 long years (1980 to 1985), Cameron took the charge of Lesbian Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration.
- She was honoured with the Harvey Milk Award for Community Service in 1992.
- Also, she was the first recipient of the Bay Area Career Women Community Service Award.
- In the year 1993, she collaborate with International Indigenous AIDS Network to engage in AIDS education, travelling to various Indian reservations throughout the United States.
- Barbara was the founder of the Institute on Native American Health and Wellness, with her first project publishing the works of Native American women writers.
Death
Cameron was in a relationship with Linda Boyd for 21 long years. They together raised a son, Rhys Boyd-Farrell. On February 12, 2002, she died of natural causes at the age of 47. Her screenplay "Long Time, No See" was unfinished when she died.
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