New Brunswick·Ann's Eye

Pilick First Nation hosts first-ever Pride celebration, with some pleasant surprises

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Pride party includes dancing, song and 2-spirit education

CBC News · Posted: Jul 23, 2023 3

Terry Young emceed the event. Ann Paul said the Pride celebration showed people from the LGBTQ community that there are safe people in Pilick First Nation they can talk to and be around. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.

When Pilick First Nation decided to have its first-ever Pride celebration, organizers weren't sure if many people would show up.

They were pleasantly surprised. 

A good number of people attended the Pride celebration in June. Aside from a barbecue and a bouncy castle for kids — the organizers wanted to involve children to show them its normal to be around Pride — the event had all the features of an Indigenous celebration: smudging, prayer, dancing and song. 

Those activities are included in any Indigenous celebration; why would Pride be any different? Ann Paul asked. 

 "If there's more people talking, there's more people out there who are available for them to go to," she said. Before, everybody was quiet so they didn't know who to talk to. They didn't know this person was safe to talk to."

Scroll through the photos and watch the video to see Pilick First Nation's Pride through Ann's eyes.

Jesse Sabattis gets the smudge going using a rainbow fan. (Ann Paul/CBC)

Mattie Comeau, who uses the pronouns they/them and she/her, attended Pilick’s first Pride event. (Ann Paul/CBC)

Johanna Googoo is pictured here drumming and singing. (Ann Paul/CBC)

WATCH | 2-spirit man shares how elders helped him find his identity: 

In the latest Ann’s Eye, Pride meets an Indigenous sharing circle. Stories, drumming and singing amplify queer joy at the Pilick Pride celebration.

Terry Young gave attendees a history lesson about what it means to be 2-spirit. Nekom is the Wolastoqey word for them; these aren’t new ideas in Indigenous communities, Ann Paul said. Still, she says covering Pride events gives her the opportunity to keep learning about the LGBTQ community. ‘It’s absolutely firetrucking amazing I get this opportunity to learn just as much as everybody else,’ she said. (Ann Paul/CBC)

What’s a summer Pride party without a BBQ? Cook Scott Sabattis is hard at work in this photo to feed everyone. (Ann Paul/CBC)

The Pilick Pride party ended with a round dance. 'It was beautiful, I loved it,' Ann said. 'That’s how we people end our day, with a song and a dance.' (Ann Paul/CBC)

Ann's Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

(CBC News Graphics)