Pride week continues, community shares experiences

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Two Spirit ‘is a self-descriptor increasingly used by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Canadians who live within a traditional aboriginal worldview,’ according to a release from OUT Saskatoon. It applies to those who assume cross or multiple gender roles, whether in attributes, clothing, attitude or a multitude of other ways.

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Exploring this for Pride Week is just one aspect. Peekeekoot says the whole week of events is important.

“To me it means the supportive community getting together saying, ‘we’re here’. It’s nice to know there’s people out there who actually care.”

Peekeekoot said she would consider Prince Albert a pretty accepting community.

“I think it is, but then again, there are some people out there who don’t really agree with my lifestyle,” she said. “I went to bible camp in Big River and I was told, ‘what you’re doing is wrong’. At that point I wasn’t really out yet but it started showing more at that time.”

To this day, Peekeekoot said she is still struggling with acceptance.

“It’s hard losing friends over it,” she said. “After I came out, after I started dating a girl I met at bible camp, people started saying, ‘she’s bad for you and your spirit is getting damaged.’”

Still, despite it not always being easy, Peekeekoot said she tries not to let other opinions bother her.

“I rarely know if I care that much because it’s my life,” she said.

Peekeekoot said she has reached out to many family members hoping to bring them along to an event.

“I’d really like to try to get someone to come out with me to one of these events soon. Hopefully I could show them there’s quite a bit of us out there. Not really assimilate them, but open their eyes,” she said.

“It would mean lots to me. But no one showed up to the flag raising with me yesterday and no one showed up with me today.”

With all the attention recently drawn to the transgender community because of Caitlyn Jenner, the question of the potential effect this may have on the LGBT has been raised. Peekeekoot said she is intrigued by Jenner and thinks it’s a good thing for the community to have someone in the public eye.

asoloducha@panow.com

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha