Grand Council Treaty #3 Celebrates Pride Month
June is Pride Month and Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh and Grand Council Treaty #3 plan celebrations in support of all LGBTQ2S+ residents of the Treaty #3 territory. Today, Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh will be attending a Pride Flag raising ceremony in Lac La Croix First Nation.
“I am extremely proud of the support I have found in our Pride initiatives here in Treaty #3,” said Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh. “The leadership of the Anishinaabe Nation is excited to bring Two Spirit teachings back into our governance models and we expect some announcements regarding our LGBTQ2S+ Council this month.”
Last summer, the Chiefs in Assembly voted to add a LGBTQ2S+ Council to its Four Directional Governance Model to ensure all the activities of Grand Council and decisions made by its leadership are informed by the LGBTQ2S+ experience. Since that time an LGBTQ2S+ Council Coordinator has been hired and has been working with community members to lay out a path to implementing the LGBTQ2S+ Council.
“We saw that although our Four Directional Governance Model has been highly successful at organizing our decision making processes, some of our people’s voices remained unheard,” added Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh. “All of our decisions are assisted by a Women’s Council, a Youth Council, a Men’s Council, and an Elder’s Council. But it became clear to me that some of the citizens I represent may not see themselves represented in these categories. Leadership agreed that this needed to change.”
The logo of the Treaty #3 LGBTQ2S+ Council will be unveiled today. Additionally, the Council will be taken to ceremony to receive a name. Grand Council plans to assemble small care packages for LGBTQ2S+ citizens that may be experiencing difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On behalf of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 I wish to send a message to LGBTQ2S+ people in our Nation and beyond: we see you, we appreciate you, it is important that you know that you are loved, and I humbly request that you celebrate with us this month and rejoin our circles in any way that you can,” added Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh.
-30-
For more information please contact: Daniel Morriseau, Political Advisor – (807) 464-2647 or by email daniel.morriseau@treaty3.ca
PDF – June 1, 2021 – Grand Council Treaty #3 Celebrates Pride Month
Artist Statement:
Hi, my name is Herminia Zavala, I am from Northwest Angle #33 and I love to create. I have always enjoyed drawing and painting, but the medium I often make use of is my tablet to create digital drawings. For me creating is healing. It helps me to better understand myself and share my feelings with others through images. Inspiration comes from everywhere, but I am mostly motivated to draw from how I am feeling in the moment. For this logo contest I wanted to create something that featured both masculine and feminine spirit with lots of colour. This image represents the two-spirit, male and female energies and how together they bring balance and unity to the people. – Herminia Zavala, Northwest Angle #33