This presentation will present the results of an empirical research project on the history of AIDS in Montréal’s Haitian community in the 1980s. Fundamental to this research are questions of knowledge — how we understand the history of the AIDS epidemic (habitually associated with gay men in its early years in the North American context), and the kinds of knowledges that are too often ignored. Drawing on interviews with organizers, nurses, and Haitian community leaders, I consider how and why Haitians responded to the AIDS crisis, and what this history can tell us about how we know the AIDS epidemic in North America. The presentation will explore links to the legacy of Kaspar Naegele in two ways: firstly, with regards to matters of epistemology and society, and secondly with respect to the substantive work of nurses in health care.