This Friday, June 21, is National Indigenous Peoples Day—a chance for us to recognize and honour the history, heritage, resilience, and achievements of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people across Turtle Island. This includes an enthusiastic acknowledgement from CBRC of all the hard work being done by our Two-Spirit Program team, as well as our other Indigenous partners, who have seen tremendous growth and accomplished much in the past year.
Recently, I had the privilege of visiting the Haida Nation in Haida Gwaii alongside five members from our Two-Spirit Program team. Three years in the making, the invitation came from Skidegate Health Centre, who asked our team to come and speak from their lived experiences and share the important work they’ve been doing to encourage dialogue on how to better support 2S/LGBTQ+ people in rural and remote communities. This four-day exchange was conducted with respect for the Indigenous cultures of the region, recognizing the importance of the visibility of Two-Spirit voices in conversations surrounding sexual health, expressions of identity, and community allyship.
I’m extremely grateful to our hosts, the Haida Nation, for making us feel so welcome—especially me, as a queer settler from a Korean immigrant family. I’m also appreciative for the opportunity for our Two-Spirit Program team to share news of their accomplishments, which have been many this past year: the Two-Spirit Medicine Bundle continues to positively impact the lives of queer and trans Indigenous folks needing access to culturally relevant sexual health supplies; our Two-Spirit Symposium in November 2023 bought together over 80 relatives from across Turtle Island for two full days of sharing, community building, and ceremony; and in March, we wrapped the third edition of Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ Celebration and Awareness Day, which grew this year to include activities in five provinces and territories. Truly, their limits know no bounds.
I am also grateful to the Haida Nation for another opportunity to watch our team in action. I know how hard they work year-round, but it was something special to see them on the land, in community, spinning their magic among kin. How the Two-Spirit Program team continues to show up in community is a beautiful thing to witness. Our team sets up brave spaces that are affirming, welcoming, supportive, and safe for people to explore challenging questions around gender identity, expression, sexual orientation, and various health issues that are connected to Indigenous communities. It was great to witness the authentic connections being made. The serious heart-to-hearts and sharing circles were also an opportunity for me to learn a lot more deeply about who our team members are, and what brought them into this work.
AN UPDATE TO CBRC’S COMMITMENT TO RECONCILIATION
As we move to acknowledge National Indigenous Peoples Day—located in the middle of National Indigenous History Month—I also want to take this opportunity to provide an update to CBRC’s commitment to reconciliation and to intentionally and purposely collaborate with Two-Spirit and Indigenous queer and trans people. One thing I’m most pleased with is how we have responded to the gaps in leadership of the organization. The fact that CBRC didn’t have an Indigenous person at the board level, or even at the senior leadership level, was a major oversight for an organization committed to decolonizing its practices. This is why I’m thrilled to have Jessy Dame—who has shepherded the Two-Spirit Program to become what it is today—in the role of Director of Two-Spirit Health, since September 2023. We are also proud to share that we are currently wrapping up our board recruitment process and are excited to be welcoming Indigenous members onto the board of directors in the coming weeks (stay tuned for the official announcement). These are not just symbolic changes, but concrete and material ones that will have a profound impact on the directions CBRC will take in the future.
We are also currently working on initiatives to expand the scale and scope of the Two-Spirit Program’s activities. One exciting development over the last year is our new operating grant for the Two-Spirit Medicine Bundle. It’s a wonderful recognition of the important impact that the initiative has had and demonstrates a desire to further invest so that the impacts can be felt far and wide.
As a non-Indigenous settler-led organization, I believe we have a unique and significant responsibility to work harder to create an environment that is responsive to the historic and ongoing impacts of colonization that Two-Spirit folks continue to face in various forms, both at an individual and a structural level. I believe it’s incumbent upon all queer organizations to examine themselves and to show up for our Indigenous community members in the same ways they show up for each other.
Finally, I also want to take a moment to express my extreme gratitude for all the hard work done by the Indigenous partner organizations we work with, and to acknowledge how they directly enable our success. The work that happens at CBRC through the Two-Spirit Program is a collaborative one and would not be possible without the passion and contributions of the various Two-Spirit organizations, Indigenous leaders, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and youth that are our partners. To all, we say thank you.
Michael Kwag
Executive Director
Community-Based Research Centre
Pictured (left to right): Lane Bonertz, Skye Wilson, Jessy Dame, William Flett, Jaylene McRae, Michael Kwag