Yellowknife (Feb 28/05) - Whiley Eaglespeaker says having sex without a condom is like throwing a smallpox-infected blanket on someone.

The young aboriginal man from the Blood tribe of southern Alberta recently toured the north with Dion Simon, a Cree from the Hobbema reserve in Alberta, to speak about the threat of HIV/AIDS.

The two passed through Fort Liard, Fort Resolution, Lutsel K'e, Fort Smith and Yellowknife.

Part of their message is to reclaim the identity of being a warrior. Traditionally, fighting was just a small part of a warrior's role in the community, Eaglespeaker said.

"Our warriors are the ones helping the community," he said. "And females are some of the greatest warriors."

Past epidemics like smallpox and influenza required aboriginal communities to break from traditional ways of thinking, Eaglespeaker said, describing how villages had to be burned or abandoned.

"All we're asking our warriors today is to put a condom on, and don't share needles," he said. "If you're not wearing a condom, you're putting the whole tribe in danger."

Lutsel K'e health program co-ordinator Rachel Abel said the workshops were well-attended in her small community of about 400 people. About 35 students in Grades 6-10 listened to their talk during the day, and about 40 people came to the community feast during the evening. "They're both role model aboriginal guys," she said. "They weren't preachy. They told it as it is. Even I learned a lot."

Twenty-six people in the Northwest Territories were reported as HIV positive from 1987-2004. However, since these were voluntarily self-reported, Eaglespeaker said the actual number of infected Northerners is expected to be far higher.

"There's a lot of people who are walking around right now who are HIV positive, and they don't know it," he said.

The tour was funded by health organizations like the Red Cross and the Aboriginal Working group on HIV/AIDS and organized by the NWT Aboriginal Women's Association.