Let your Pride flag fly

Dalhousie and community partners ushered in the university's third-annual Pride Week festivities in Halifax Thursday by adding an extra dose of colour to the Studley Quad.

A multi-hued Pride flag (including black and brown stripes to represent 2SLGBTQ+ individuals of colour) was raised as part of the ceremonial kick-off, which celebrated the contributions of diverse and intersecting individuals and groups within the university community and beyond.

"Ensuring the inclusion of voices of those who are marginalized does not have to be tokenizing and draining, but rather can be genuine and empowering," said Rachele Manett (pictured below), a Dal master's student and peer educator with Human Rights and Equity Service (HRES), in remarks at the event.

She recognized those 2SLGBTQ+ communities who have been harmed by a lack of attention to intersectionality — the
overlapping and intersecting nature of different social identities — and encouraged everyone to play a part in doing better in the future.

"I challenge all of us to attend events and discussions this week, to do our research by ourselves and to work together to create a truly inclusive community at Dalhousie and in the greater Halifax area," she said.

A separate flag-raising ceremony took place on Dal's Agricultual Campus in Truro last Friday, with events on that campus throughout the past week.

Relationship building and respect

John R. Sylliboy and Elder Walter Johnson of The Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance (W2SA), an informal group of Mi'kmag, Maliseet, Passimaquoddy, Abenaki and Penobscot First Nations Two-Spirit people and allies that provides safe spaces for Indigenous LGBTQ+ individuals, also attended the flag raising in Halifax.

Sylliboy, a co-founder of W2SA who is also involved in health and education policy, community development in Atlantic Canada and Indigenous curriculum development at Dal, stressed the importance of relationship building and respect in his group's efforts. 

"There are a lot of people who are Indigenous that self identify as LGBTQ or two-spirited who do not have the same experiences," said Sylliboy (left), who is from Millbrook First Nation.

"We’re there to provide as much support as we can and continue to build on and rely on relationships like Dalhousie University and post-secondary institutions all over to make sure that we work together to move forward."

Following the formal portion of the event, attendees were invited to attend a discussion group in the Student Union Building on how to better address intersecting identities in 2SLGBTQ+ spaces, programming and events.

For information on upcoming events during Dal Pride Week 2018, visit dal.ca/showyourpride