Google Celebrates Out Native American Rights Activist Barbara May Cameron with a Doodle

The Google Doodle for May 22 celebrated openly lesbian Native American equality advocate Barbara May Cameron, acknowledging what would have been her 69th birthday.

"Cameron was born on May 22, 1954, and was raised on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota. Cameron died of natural causes at the age of 47 in 2002," UPI reported.

Google offered more biographical detail on Cameron, noting that she "was born a member of the Hunkpapa group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe, and raised on the Standing Rock Reservation by her grandparents."

"After graduating high school, she studied photography and film at the American Indian Art Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was here that Cameron began winning awards in theater and media arts."

Google added, "After coming out as a lesbian, Cameron moved to San Francisco in 1973 and advocated for LGBTQIA+ acceptance in the Native American community and addressed racism in queer spaces."

"In 1975, she co-founded Gay American Indians – the first ever dedicated Native American LGBTQIA+ group – with her friend and fellow activist Randy Burns."

That was only the start of Cameron's many accomplishments. "In 1980, she organized the Lesbian Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration then become the executive director at Community United Against Violence," UPI recalled. "She was appointed by two San Francisco mayors to the Citizens Committee on Community Development and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, then to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women."

"Cameron was also part of a lawsuit against the Immigration & Naturalization Service to change their policy of turning away gay people seeking asylum," the news report added. "The case ultimately went to the Supreme Court where the plaintiffs won."

Cameron's life partner, Linda Boyd-Durkee, recalled for Google that Cameron "was serious about justice, serious about the civil rights and safety of native people, of lesbian and gay people, of women. But she had her playful side, and the most tender heart."

Boyd-Durkee noted that Cameron's addresses – from "a college class in Women's History or Native History" to "an AIDS conference or a LAFA event" – left many people "impressed," and added: "Our hope for her legacy is that those who were so moved will honor her by standing up for the lives to which she dedicated hers."