This year marked the first time Pride Week was celebrated in Wollaston Lake. (SUbmitted photo/Edward J Benoanie)

By Derek Cornet

2SLGBTQ+

Pride Week celebrated in Wollaston Lake for the first time

Jun 23, 2023 | 5:20 PM

Wollaston Lake has celebrated its first Pride Week, which included a dance, parade and a special appearance by Chelazon Leroux from Canada’s Drag Race.

Many of the events were hosted by students from Father Megret High School with assistance from staff such as teacher Edward J Benoanie. He explained it was about time for the community to organize such events, noting as a school they need to ensure they provide an inclusive environment for all students.

“I’m from here myself and it gave myself an opportunity to be an advocate for the kids, because I had been through that situation before, where I grew up with a lot of homophobia,” Benoanie said.

“In the work field, sometimes you do sense some homophobia but that is something you kind of don’t talk about. It just really gave me a motivation. It feels really good to give the kids a voice and just to make sure they feel safe and they feel welcome.”

The week began on Tuesday with a visit from Saskatchewan psychologist Jai Richards, who identifies as a transgender man. He was mostly there to provide education and resources to teachers who had questions about the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Richards had lunch with school staff, where he gave them advice on bullying and how to provide an approach in a sensitive way.

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Wednesday was a busy day for students as they participated in a Pride Parade, which was followed by a dance at the school. Benoanie estimated about 200 people attended the dance, which was even more than who attended National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations on the same day at the band hall. The dance included a talent show, which featured a couple of students who performed a routine in drag.

A dance was held at Father Megret High School during Pride Week. (Submitted photo/Edward J Benoanie)

“The way the students responded was so positive and it just lightened all the kid’s moods,” he said.

“It was encouraging for them too, because those are the students who are usually shunned upon for things. It just gave them a really good spotlight, and it was really positive and welcoming and they had a really good time.”

Thursday was a rather special day with an appearance by Chelazon Leroux from Canada’s Drag Race. She did some public speaking in the community and held a meet and greet with students. Leroux talked about their experience growing and how they were bullied and went through hardships as well.

When planning Pride Week for Wollaston Lake, Benoanie mentioned he was careful how he went about it because of the Catholic and conservative values of the people living there.

“I was being really careful of how I was going to approach it in terms of to the public and how I was going to educate everyone,” he said.

Grade 10 student Corbin Josie was among of those who volunteered with Pride Week events. He said there were a lot of people attending the events and it was nice to see Pride Week celebrated in Wollaston Lake.

“It’s just cool to see this happen in our community,” Josie said. “We don’t usually do stuff like this.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno