This is a story about our relationship – a front-line warrior/Elder/community researcher and a settler physician/student/researcher. We would like to share our history with you as an example of how relationships form the foundation of allyship. We present our joint history, weaving our voices together throughout this paper.

About the Authors

​Denise Jaworsky is a settler physician and health researcher living in Northern British Columbia on the unceded territory of the Tsimshian peoples. She is a mother, wife, sister and daughter. She completed her medical school at the University of Toronto and her General Internal Medicine residency and fellowship at the University of British Columbia.

Elder Valerie Nicholson: 
Honouring her given names The One the Eagles watch over, NoDe WenDa {wolf eyes} and Auntie from the Torres Straight Islanders, Valerie is Mi'kmaq, Haida, gypsy and UK Islander descent. A mother of 4 boys and grandmother of 5 grandchildren. Living with HIV for 16 years, Valerie currently works at the BC Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS as a Peer Researcher and Co-investigator, and at AIDS Vancouver as Indigenous Peer Navigator. 
Valerie is the 2018 recipient of CAHR Red Ribbon Research award, the 2019 AIDS Vancouver Red Ribbon Award for Outstanding Contribution to the HIV/AIDS Movement, and the 2019 CAHR-CANFAR excellence in research CBR (CHIWOS) She is the past board Chair of Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network. She works with youth as Elder for Camp Moomba, YouthCo, First Directions and Yuusnewas. Her new adventure is in Artivism.