Pride parade. File photo Kevin Hill
The Vancouver Pride Society has announced its 2018 Pride Parade grand marshals.
"After our Indigenous entries the grand marshals open up the Pride Parade," says VPS executive director Andrea Arnot.
The 2018 Vancouver Pride Parade's grand marshals are Laurie McDonald, Ron Dutton and A Mile In Our Moccasins.
"Two of our grand marshals have a rich history of being involved with pride and the queer community for 40 years and a Mile in Our Moccasins are a group of young people who are doing amazing work," says Arnot.
Laurie McDonald is a Two-Spirit from the Enoch Cree Nation near Edmonton, Alberta who was accepted as he was by his family. In 1960, was was scooped and placed in the Ermineskin Indian Residential School where he faced prejudice, sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect.
Photo contributed
After leaving the school he worked as an educator, front-line child protection social worker and now as an instructor for Aboriginal social workers.
He was one of the founders of The Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Two Spirit Society (GVNCS), which has served as a surrogate family and culture forum for Two Spirit people and their allies.
Ron Dutton began working on the BC Gay and Lesbian Archives in the mid-1970s using his library science skills to document the political activism of the gay liberation movement.
Photo Dan Toulgoet
After 42 years, the library has grown to contain 3/4 million items including pamphlets, press reports and posters. The archive was moved to the City of Vancouver Archives in March, 2018 for its conservation, public access and conversion into searchable, permanent formats.
Dutton encourages others to add their their memorabilia to the ever-evolving story of the LGBTQIA2+ communities.
A Mile in Our Moccasins is a short film created by five Indigenous youth living with HIV. The idea to create the film evolved from an Indigenous Youth Speaker Series developed by Christina Tom, Lulu Gurney, Preston Leon, William Flett and others.
A Mile in Our Moccasins combines lived experience with scientific facts, Indigenous culture and spirituality. The film aims to fight HIV stigma, address HIV myths, raise awareness and awaken compassion in viewers. A Mile in Our Moccasins is described as a story of resilience, healing, and empowerment.
The VPS celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year and the Vancouver Pride Parade will be held on August 5 at 11 a.m.
