Kyle K. Ethelbah is a full blooded member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe born to the Dischiidn, or Bear Clan on the Fort Apache Indian reservation in Central eastern Arizona. At the age of 3, Kyle tragically lost his mother at which point he came into the guardianship of his maternal grandmother, Ronda Lavender. Kyle grew up with his brother and grandmother in the small community of Diamond Creek, Arizona, on the reservation. The name Ethelbah is part of an Apache word meaning "Gray Shoes."

Kyle grew up very active in school sports and academic clubs, running track in Whiteriver Elementary, Middle and Alchesay High school, as well as Arizona Lutheran Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. He ultimately graduated from Alchesay High school in 1993 and enrolled at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona and graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural & Linguistic Anthropology and a minor in Spanish literature. Kyle is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and expects to graduate in May 2009.

Although active, energetic, and by all means, academically successful, the tragic childhood loss of his mother and subsequent sexual abuse he experienced by friends of the family led Kyle to experience emotional trauma which in turn led him to engage in high risk behavior during college and after. He soon came to be a fixture in the party lifestyle on the reservation and during his stays in the San Francisco Bay area, Phoenix, Arizona and finally in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2001, Kyle received notice that he had contracted HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) as a result of his high-risk behavior. Not long afterward, Kyle fell into a deep depression and resigned himself to be a statistic, a victim of HIV and HCV co-infection. In 2003, he was informed that he had stage 3, cirrhosis which was incurable and that he did not qualify for a liver transplant due to his medical conditions. Not long after, Kyle was hospitalized with severe HIV related anemia and an AIDS diagnosis.

During this time, Kyle had the opportunity to review the steps he had taken. It was this experience that led him to realize that he did not have to be a statistic, a victim of his past nor his past choices. He came into recovery (emotional, physical and spiritual) and has since become an advocate for both American Indian and HIV related causes. His life path led him to enroll into a Master’s program in Public Health with a health promotion focus. His master’s project focuses on the use of technology to track behavior change in American Indian individuals at high risk for HIV transmission.

Kyle is very active in the Las Vegas community, speaking on the impact that history has had on American Indian communities, specifically the historical trauma experienced as a result of colonization. He has also begun to increase his repertoire to advocate on behalf of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Southern Nevada. He has received numerous awards in the state of Nevada including the Community Service of the Year award from the Las Vegas Indian Center, Special Recognition from the Las Vegas City Council, the Professional Staff Member of the Year from University of Nevada Las Vegas’s (UNLV) Division of Student Life, the Collaborative Effort of the Year Award from UNLV’s Division of Student Life and the Outstanding Community Service Award from TODO International, an HIV/AIDS Service organization that caters to the African American, Latino and Native American community in Las Vegas.

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