Barbara May Cameron
Barbara May Cameron (1954-2023) was a prominent Native American and LGBTQIA+ activist, known for her significant contributions to both communities. Born in Yates, North Dakota, and raised on the Standing Rock Reservation, she became a member of the Hunkpapa group of the Lakota Tribe. Cameron's activism began to take shape after winning a writing contest in her youth, which led her to pursue photography and film studies in Santa Fe and later at the San Francisco Art Institute. In 1975, she co-founded Gay American Indians, the first organization of its kind, advocating for the rights and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people within Native American communities.
Cameron's dedication to activism extended to organizing significant events, including the Lesbian Gay Freedom Day Parade, and serving on multiple city and state commissions, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Throughout her career, she emphasized the importance of intersectionality between race and sexual orientation, often sharing personal narratives to highlight the struggles faced by marginalized groups. Her impactful speeches and writings, such as "Gee, You Don't Seem Like an Indian from the Reservation," have resonated deeply within LGBTQIA+ and Native American histories. In recognition of her contributions, she was honored with several awards, including the Harvey Milk Award for Community Service. Cameron passed away in San Francisco, leaving a lasting legacy celebrated by her community and beyond.
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Subject Terms
Barbara May Cameron
Activist, photographer, and writer
- Born: May 22, 1954
- Birthplace: Fort Yates, North Dakota
- Died: February 12, 2002
- Place of death: San Francisco, California
Significance: Barbara May Cameron was a Native American activist, photographer, and writer. In 1975, she cofounded the first Native American liberation organization, Gay American Indians. Cameron held many positions that focused on activism and the LGBTQIA+ community and was appointed to serve on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Cameron was also an accomplished photographer and writer.
Background
Barbara May Cameron was born on May 22, 1954, in Yates, North Dakota. Cameron was raised by her grandparents on the Standing Rock Reservation. She was a member of the Hunkpapa group, which is part of the Lakota Tribe. When Cameron was in ninth grade, she won a writing contest sponsored by Pepsi. Her prize included a one-thousand-dollar monetary award and a trip to Washington, DC. The contest sparked her interest in art and activism. After Cameron graduated high school, she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she studied photography and film at the American Indian Art Institute. In 1973, Cameron moved to California to attend the San Francisco Art Institute. There, she became involved with the queer rights movement and focused much of her activism on the acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people with Native American communities. In 1975, Cameron co-founded the first Native American LGBTQ+ Gay American Indians with her friend, Randy Burns.
Life’s Work
After establishing Gay American Indians, Cameron continued her advocacy work, organizing the Lesbian Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration from 1980 to 1985. The parade has been known as the Dyke March since 1993. She also became the executive director for Community United Against Violence (CUAV). However, her work with this organization was short-lived. She had a public argument with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence about the sponsorship of the annual Castro Halloween Celebration. The CUAV called for her resignation after this, and Cameron left the group. The public mishap did not stop her advocacy, however. Two separate San Francisco mayors—Dianne Feinstein and Frank Jordan—appointed Cameron to city committees: the Citizens Committee on Community Development and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Both organizations allowed Cameron to continue her advocacy work for the Native American and LBGT communities. She expanded her focus after being appointed to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Cameron traveled in 1986 to Nicaragua as part of Somos Hermanas (We Are Sisters). In 1993, she traveled to Berlin to attend the International Conference on AIDS. She then visited reservations throughout the United States to promote AIDS education because during the 1990s, HIV/AIDS disproportionately impacted Native Americans.
In 1988, Cameron was a Rainbow Coalition delegate for Jesse Jackson’s presidency bid at the 1988 Democratic National Convention (DNC). In 1989, she served as the president and co-chair of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, the first LGBT Democratic Club in the United States. Her work was recognized again in 1992 when she was awarded the Harvey Milk Award for Community Service. In 1977, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man appointed to a California political office. However, Milk was assassinated the following year by a disgruntled former city supervisor. In 1993, Cameron received the first Bay Area Career Women Community Service Award.
Impact
Cameron’s words have left an indelible mark within LGBTQIA+ and Native American history. In 1980, unhappy with the main-stage speakers for Gay Freedom Day, Cameron stormed the stage of San Francisco’s Civic Center and delivered what has been considered one of the most emotional speeches in the city’s LGBTQIA+ history. She frequently used personal stories when addressing crowds. Her 1981 essay, “Gee, You Don’t Seem Like an Indian from the Reservation,” describes the violence she witnessed within her community. She also spoke candidly of the fear she had of losing her “Indian-ness” as she spent more and more time working in a world that was dominated by White people. Her 1993 piece, “Frybread in Berlin” discussed the lack of visibility of people of color in the LGBT community. Cameron frequently focused on the intersectionality between race and sexual orientation and identity.
She was honored by Google on May 22, 2023, what would have been her sixty-ninth birthday. The Google doodle featured a cartoon photographer holding a Pride flag. Cameron’s cartoon also included a group of women, as well as a cityscape of San Francisco and the mountains of North Dakota.
Personal Life
At the time of her death, Barbara May Cameron lived in San Francisco, California, with Linda Boyd, her partner of twenty-one years, and their son Rhys. Cameron was buried in South Dakota, a short distance from where she was raised.
Bibliography
Alexandra, Rae. “The Indigenous Activist Who Demanded Inclusion for All LGBTQ+ People,” KQED, 28 Jan. 2021, www.kqed.org/arts/13889944/the-indigenous-activist-who-demanded-inclusion-for-all-lgbtq-people. Accessed 20 June 2023.
“Barbara Cameron Papers,” Online Archive of California, n.d., www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c83t9kc3/entire‗text/. Accessed 20 June 2023.
Cooper, Alex. “Google Doodle Honors Lesbian Native American Activist Barbara May Cameron,” Advocate, 22 May 2023, www.advocate.com/people/google-doodle-barbara-may-cameron. Accessed 20 June 2023.
Knight, Heather. “Barbara May Cameron—Human Rights Activist,” SF Gate, 19 Apr. 2002 www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Barbara-May-Cameron-human-rights-activist-3656589.php. Accessed 20 June 2023.
Monteil, Abby. “Happy Birthday Barbara May Cameron, Legendary Lesbian Native American Activist,” Them, 22 May 2023, www.them.us/story/barbara-may-cameron-google-doodle. Accessed 20 June 2023.
Raiken, Amber. “Who Was Barbara May Cameron? The Poet and Human Rights Activist Celebrated in Today’s Google Doodle,” Independent, 23 May 2023, www.independent.co.uk/life-style/barbara-may-cameron-google-doodle-b2343534.html. Accessed 20 June 2023.
Saunt, Raven. “Who Is Barbara May Cameron and Why Is She Being Celebrated by Google? Everything You Need to Know about Famed Native American Photographer and Poet Being Honored with a Doodle,” Daily Mail, 22 May 2023, www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12111185/Who-Barbara-Cameron-celebrated-Google.html. Accessed 20 June 2023.