Indigenous voices head up Vancouver's 2018 Pride Parade

Two of this years Vancouver Pride Paradegrand marshals have been working to raise awareness about what it's like being Indigenous and living with HIV.

William Flett and Lulu Gurney are two of the filmmakers behind a short filmed called AMile in Our Moccasinswhich tells the stories of Indigenous youth from diagnosis to acceptance.

While both were young when they were diagnosed, they each faced a unique set of challenges.

Gurney who was diagnosed at 23 was addicted to drugs and alcohol leading up toherdiagnosis and continued down that path as a coping mechanism.

"Being so young and not having the ability to reach out to services that were there, it was something Ifound was just easier for me to be living with HIV and drinking and using drugs," Gurney said.

"Some of the challenges that Ifaced along the way was being able to open up and reach out to people and also let people know my status."

As for Flett who was diagnosed at 18 hestruggled with the waiting game that came from the original tests they took.

"Basically the way my first test result came back, was that it came back as inconclusive. They explained that some parts of the test read as positive but some parts of the test read as negative," Flett said.

Flett says he was confused by the original results and had to wait one week for a more conclusive test.

Telling the story

Both say the making of the film and the advocacyand workshops that have gone with ithave helped them in their journey and healing.

But those journeys resulted in very different stories.

"I've generally been openly positive for a while,"Flettsaid.

Because of this, he found it difficult to decide what parts of his story to share, but eventually his peers reminded him that his story was relatable for many who have already accepted their status.

Gurney, who took a little longer to comes to terms with her status,says she hopes that her experiences will help people acknowledge how hard it can be to share.

"I really enjoyed putting my story out there," Gurney said.

"The message I would like to convey is so that we all have an understanding of the similarities we all face when disclosing our status to peoplejust how hard it can be in every moment to buildthat courage andbe able to say, 'I'm HIV positive.'"

This story is part of a series called Pride and Progress that airs onCBC Vancouver News at 6andThe Early Editionthroughout Pride Week, July 30-Aug.3.