ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Juanita Toledo knows what it's like to grow up in a household where alcohol is abused, but with the help of a national organization for Native American youths she has chosen a different path for herself.

Toledo, 23, of Jemez Pueblo in northern New Mexico, is presiding as one of two co-presidents over a national five-day conference in Albuquerque which started Friday. Nearly 1,000 Native American youths from across the country are gathering at the United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc., or UNITY, conference, organizers say.

UNITY, an Oklahoma City-based organization, promotes personal development, citizenship and leadership among American Indian and Alaska Native youth. It has 150 affiliated youth councils in 35 states.

Members of the group who were surveyed in February said that drug and alcohol abuse topped their list of concerns for their generation. Other concerns included teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, obesity, dropout rates and cultural preservation.

Toledo said she witnessed physical and verbal abuse while growing up and saw two of her uncles die from liver trouble.

"That's one thing that kept me from drinking was just seeing my uncles, what they had become, what alcohol did to them," she said.

But having the support of UNITY also helped. Toledo stood in front of thousands of young people and pledged to live a positive lifestyle, free of alcohol or illegal drugs.

"I sat in front of these people and I took the oath," she said. "I lived what I said I was going to do."

Layha Spoonhunter, 19, of Ethete on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, said the conference in Albuquerque will be the third he's attended.

Spoonhunter of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes said UNITY's role models have helped him stand up to those who have tried to get him to drink alcohol when he attended an off-reservation school.

"There was a lot of peer pressure. There was a lot of stereotypes that occurred, that every Indian drinks, but you have to find a way to prove them wrong that not every Indian drinks," he said.

The conference is packed with motivational messages, team building exercises, workshops, chances for cultural exchange, sports and fitness activities and a career fair.