Miles Morrisseau
ICT
FISHER RIVER CREE NATION, Manitoba — A smattering of rain did not dampen the spirits of the participants of the annual Pride Parade on the Fisher River Cree Nation north of Winnipeg, Canada.
Over a dozen floats made their way around the community on June 18, bumping tunes, flying the pride flag and tossing out candy to appreciative children and community members.
Lauren Garson, organizer of this year’s event, said the parade is about creating and expressing a safe space in the community. Garson is event coordinator for the First Nation Healing Centre, which runs a women’s shelter and provides other services for women and children affected by violence in Manitoba.
“It’s to draw awareness, and because we’re a women’s shelter and we want them to feel welcome, and we want to be very inclusive of each and every individual,” Garson told ICT, soon after serving up barbecue to those in attendance. “It’s very important for us to create that safe space for everyone.”
Garson was pleased that Fisher River High School participated in the parade for the first time this year, with a decorated school bus joining in as a parade float.
Morgan Spence, South Indian Lake Cree Nation, works at the school as an educational assistant.
“It is important to see because I grew up with a lot of stories of bad things happening to people in the LGBTQ community,” Spence told ICT after the parade. “So to see that every kid is okay with seeing pride as a celebration — it’s such an amazing thing to see. Because me, growing up, personally, I didn’t see a lot of it being celebrated, but seeing it all over the country and all over the world being celebrated is such an amazing feeling.”
The school bus — which was filled with kids and decorated in pride flags and a rainbow spectrum of balloons — joined over a dozen other vehicles including four-wheel ATVs, semi-trucks and more in the celebration.
The parade began in the band administration parking lot, toured the main roads in the community and then ended at the ceremonial grounds, where all enjoyed barbeque to cap off the day.
Garson said this is the first time to be involved with the parade but that it has grown every year for the past five years. Garson’s colleagues at the healing centre, Alyssa Cochrane and April Traverse, helped coordinate the event.
“It’s important because it’s just to spread awareness about gender equality,” Traverse told ICT. “Everybody’s entitled to act how they act, or free themselves however they want to free themselves, and everyone should be accepted for that.”
For the organizers, the celebration of pride comes down to one thing — making everyone feel welcome and safe.
“It’s just for our community members to know that we are there for them, the LGBTQ community, that it’s a safe space, our healing center,” Cochrane told ICT. “It’s just like she said … inclusivity for all our members.”