About 150 people took part in the annual Two-Spirit Pride Festival and Parade on the Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation Friday.
This is the third consecutive year Beardy’s has hosted its own Pride Parade.
Kevin Seesequasis is a councillor with the First Nation and a member of the parade organizing committee.
He says Beardy’s holds its own annual parade to showcase the diversity of the community.
“We consider ourselves a very progressive community,” Seesequasis says. “We like to celebrate, have a good time, and it’s important that individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, bi-sexual, queer, two-spirited – it’s important for us to let them know they are accepted and loved in our community and that’s why we wanted to do this.”
At the same time, Seesequasis says First Nations as a whole still have some way to go in terms of fully embracing and accepting the gay community.
“I would like to think that it is changing but the fact that we’ve been doing this for three years and we’re the only First Nation in Saskatchewan doing that, means we still have a long way to go in some of our communities.”
The day started with a lunch and discussion at the Willow Cree Arena, followed by a flag raising at the band office and parade.
A separate Pride lunch was held at Veterans Hall and later a film screening of “To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar.”
The day’s activities concluded with a drag show featuring Gisele Gotti-Chanel at the Seniors’ Hall in Duck Lake.
(Photo: Beardy’s Two Spirit Pride Festival and Parade, by Fraser Needham)