Ahead of his TEDx Winnipeg talk, Dr. Mizzi shares what he learned from attending Pride events across Canada, how they build resilience in the face of rising hate, and why supporting queer and trans lives in rural communities is deeply personal for him.

To listen to the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba.

UM celebrates Pride to reaffirm our commitment to be a welcoming, inclusive environment for all. It’s a time to show visible allyship and support for two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual and gender identities (2SLGBTQIA+).

Let us know what you’re planning

If you are organizing events for Pride Week (May 23 to June 1) or throughout Pride Month, please let us know. Submit your event details through the UM Pride Events form so we can promote a comprehensive calendar of celebrations happening across our campuses.

Pride Winnipeg Parade – Save the date!

Join the UM community as we once again walk together in the Pride Winnipeg Parade on Sunday, June 1. Sign up today and show your UM Pride!

For information about all UM Pride community events, visit the 2SLGBTQIA+ community webpage.

“I’m originally from Ohpáskowayáhk, also known as OCN/The Pas, and I spent a lot of my teenage years feeling confused and secluded,” says Queskekapow. “I just didn’t see a lot of people who were like me and so I didn’t really know who I was.”

In late 2020, they left their home community to pursue post-secondary education at the University of Manitoba where they are now doing their undergrad with a B.A. in Indigenous Studies.

Sunday Queskekapow (photo by Azka Ahmed, bolo tie by artist Eli Bird)

Queskekapow also works as a community and youth engagement coordinator with 2Spirit Manitoba Inc., a research advisor with Manitoba Harm Reduction, and they sit on the provincial government’s advisory circle for suicide prevention policy, overseen by the Honourable Bernadette Smith.

“It’s definitely a lot of work for one person to do,” says Queskekapow. “But this isn’t just work for me, it’s my life. It’s the life that I’ve lived and it’s the life my community members are living.”

When Queskekapow was seventeen, they made the decision to pursue gender affirming care. With no access to a general practitioner, Queskekapow says they would pack up their rusted 2003 Dodge Neon and make regular trips into Winnipeg, seven hours away from their family and their supports, to receive the care they needed. They became homeless and spent some time sleeping on the couches of friends before saving enough money to move to Winnipeg and enroll in university.

“I had to be displaced from my community to receive care that everyone should have the right to,” says Queskekapow. “And because of all these obstacles, I made a vow to make it my life’s commitment to ensure that other 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in northern and rural communities will someday have equal access to gender affirming care.”

Queskekapow says they realized they needed a post-secondary education to do the work they wanted to do and were drawn to the Indigenous Studies program at UM.

Outside of school, Queskekapow’s work focuses on aiding 2SLGBTQIA+ people in Manitoba, with a more recent focus on northern and rural Manitoba communities. As someone from northern Manitoba, Queskekapow says they bring a perspective to the table that is often overlooked.

“I’ve sat in meetings where everyone is talking about very important issues, but I’ll notice that no one has mentioned how we’re going to help people in northern and remote communities,” says Queskekeapow. “And I’ve realized how important it is to have people like me, with my similar lived experience, in these spaces and in these rooms.”

Queskekapow says their goal is to go into policy work.

“My path has just been very clear. I see the need for Two-Spirit people at the decision-making tables, helping with policy – especially at different levels of government. Whether that might be within reserves, local municipalities, provincially or federally, it’s needed at all levels.”

As they continue to work toward their goals, Queskekapow is grateful for the community they’ve found in Winnipeg, and the connections they’ve made with Two-Spirit Elders – including Elders Charlotte Nolin, Barbara Bruce, Albert McLeod and Gayle Pruden.

“Just hearing all their stories of what they’ve done and what they’ve gone through helps me to realize that I can keep going,” says Queskekapow. “They’re making sure that things don’t have to be as hard for us as they were for them and now it’s our turn to do the same for the next generation.”

For Queskekapow, having Two-Spirit and Trans representation in their life has made a huge impact and helped them to see a future for themself they never could have imagined.

“I never thought I’d be where I am right now,” says Queskekapow. “I’ll be sitting in the Manitoba Legislative building and thinking to myself ‘how many northern, Two-Spirit Trans individuals have sat here?’”

And Queskekapow says they hope the work they do will help 2SLGBTQIA+ youth see that they can grow up to be happy adults.

“I was them once. And that part of me is still in here, guiding me and driving me to do the work that I do,” says Queskekapow. “Having representation and reassurance in my teenage years would have made things a lot easier for me.”

And that’s also why Queskekapow says celebrating Pride is so crucial for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

“It’s to show youth that they have the community, the support and the representation. To show them that people are always fighting for them,” says Queskekapow. “Pride is so much more than a celebration. It means freedom for all and it’s about showing 2SLGBTQIA+ youth that they can grow up to become happy adults and eventually, happy Elders too.”

In Chamagua’s words, Marquesa is “an always-morphing being, free to explore and play with different eras and styles. At her core, she’s her own definition of femininity and power, with a touch of comic style, and always embraces her Salvadoran roots.”

Marquesa is Chamagua’s drag queen persona and expression of his queer pride and artistry.

Chamagua recognizes how working as a performer requires a certain business knack, but is quick to acknowledge that drag is a form of art and advocacy first.

“Just like any entrepreneur, drag queens have overhead costs (costumes, wigs, makeup, transportation) and revenue streams (performance fees, merchandise sales, tips), and they offer services (hosting events, emceeing, leading workshops), all while managing the complexities of self-employment.

“However, drag queens also merge their personal identity with their drag persona, engaging with audiences through this artistic expression. They are deeply connected to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, often serving as activists and advocates, and we face unique challenges related to visibility and safety in society,” he explains.

He does all of this, while launching his own queer event company and brand Revel.Sync with fellow UM alum Zachary Rushing [BJazz/21], pursuing his Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker and Chartered Insurance Professional designations, serving clients at Columbia Insurance and engaging with communities of insurance professionals.

A member of the Young Brokers Network of the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba, Chamagua has served in management roles previously, supported by his BComm training, and now hopes to advance his own skills in the field, preparing for future management roles, and striving to bring inclusivity and pride into the corporate world.

“I hope to empower individuals and organizations to take meaningful actions toward creating inclusive spaces that foster conversation, celebrate differences and challenge biases. The speed at which organizations are willing to adapt and change varies, but step by step, we are building the foundation for sustainable social change.”

On stage and in the office, Chamagua is committed to advocating for inclusive spaces that support people to be their best and most authentic selves, to help queer people feel safe and empowered at work and beyond.

Reflecting on what Pride means to him, Chamagua thinks about communities that embrace difference, noting that one of the highlights of his Asper experience was connecting with a wonderful network of international students.

He also thinks about when he first became interested in drag, which began with a knee-jerk “no.” Asked by a working drag artist if he would ever consider it, he was surprised by how hastily he responded.

“I had to wonder, as a proud gay man, why was my immediate answer “no”? I reflected, and realized that I needed to confirm if I was choosing not to embrace my femininity or if I was afraid to embrace this part of me, so I went against every instinct to put myself out of my comfort zone as Marquesa, and I have definitely grown from it.”

Marquesa’s origin story is also the story of Chamagua becoming more comfortable in expressing himself fully and authentically, embracing his own unique expression of femininity, masculinity and queerness in his day-to-day life.

“Marquesa is my personal reminder to continue to resist conformity by being true to myself,” he says.

And this is at the heart of what Pride means to Chamagua: a celebration of living authentically, of choice and of freedom from fear, amplified during an exciting week in June, but vital every day of the year.

UM’s Pride celebrations are a reflection of UM’s continued allyship, enthusiasm and support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Take the opportunity to gather and celebrate our pride with UM’s diverse communities!

UM Pride events

Friday, May 24

Campus Pride Week Kick-off

Where: Room 200 – Faculty of Education
Time: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Join us as we kick-off UM Campus Pride 2024. The event will feature special guest speakers and the unveiling of UM’s new pride visual experience. Everyone is invited to a reception with tea, coffee, snacks and other light refreshments.

Monday, May 27

U of Them Climbing Club

Where: Bouldering Room, Frank Kennedy Centre
Time: 6 to 10 p.m.

UM Recreation Services continues to create welcoming and safe spaces for the 2SLGBTQAI+ community. Come try out bouldering, offered every Monday with the U of Them climbing group. There is a drop-in fee of $21.

Thursday, May 30

Pride button making

Where: First floor, UMSU University Centre (near UMSU Service Centre)
Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

UMSU with the Rainbow Pride Centre (RPC) will once again host a button making day! Drop by any time between 11 – 2 to create your own unique buttons to show off at Pride. Pride-themed snacks and drinks will also be served.

Sunday, June 2

Winnipeg Pride Parade

Meet time: 10:45 a.m.
Meeting location: Memorial Boulevard

Parade: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Parade route: North on Memorial Boulevard, East down Portage Avenue to the Forks.

By registering to walk or roll in the parade with UM, you’ll receive the newly re-designed UM Pride merchandise while supplies last. Come early to get your fan, t-shirt, buttons or bubbles. Bring your friends, family, pets and join our UM community as we dance to DJ tunes, celebrate amongst the bubbles and enjoy being part of the largest crowd in the parade!

Following the parade, all are welcome to enjoy the onsite entertainment, vendors and festival events.

Register to participate today!

A student at school slammed me into a locker and then kept walking. The next day, another kid grabbed my notebooks and threw them across the hallway floor. I was a thin, shy and effeminate kid, and these frequent encounters in high school wore me down. No one seemed to care about this harassment despite my complaints to the school staff. 

To give myself some reprieve and to stay out of harm’s way, I often went for my lunch break to the nearby horse stables. The stables were dirty and smelled of manure. I had no table or chair, so I ate my sandwich in a stall. 

To read Robert’s full story, please visit CBC News. 

This is an important time for the university to demonstrate our commitment to being a welcoming and inclusive community, and to show allyship with two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual or gender identities (2SLGBTQIA+).

We would love to hear about all the different events happening at UM during Pride Week (May 24 to June 2) and throughout Pride Month. Simply fill out the UM Pride Events form to share your event details so we can help promote a full itinerary of events taking place on our campuses.

Save the date and sign up today to join UM at the parade on June 2, when UM will once again come together to proudly participate in the Pride Winnipeg Parade. 

For information about all UM Pride community events, visit the 2SLGBTQIA+ community webpage.

Pride events are about human rights, empowering 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals to reclaim the public space where they often feel excluded. This year’s celebrations of diverse communities were especially relevant after communities in Brandon were demanding for books with gender, sexuality, and queer content to be banned from schools. “Making topics taboo again, or not being able to talk about certain things so close to home made people feel the need to actually get out there and take a stand and just make sure people recognize that schools are places for everyone, and these are human rights issues,” explains Dr. Charlotte Enns, acting dean Faculty of Education.

The Faculty of Education was part of a Province wide letter campaign that was sent to the Brandon School Division Board of Trustees. The letter was signed by organizations including the Manitoba Teachers Society (MTS), People for Public Education, as well as Manitoba teachers and UM community members. “To me one of the key purposes of the faculty is to educate people around making choices about schooling, reinforcing the purpose of education and how it is the place where children, not just learn academic content, but learn how to be good citizens and how to participate in society in meaningful ways. These kinds of actions are important for us to part of”, said Enns.

“We want students to finish and graduate school and have high achievement and succeed in life. That’s always the purpose of education. So, when we have these books in place, students do feel affirmed and can continue with their studies and can become strong contributors to society in whatever they chose to be”, said Dr. Robert Mizzi, Canada Research Chair and associate professor to CBC Radio.

The Faculty of Education members, with support from the Executive Lead-EDI, created stickers for inclusive educational spaces that were available at UM Pride events. In addition, Dr. Joe Curnow designed a banner for Pride Winnipeg 2023 with a particular focus on schools and how they are a place for promoting human rights of all children.

Faculty of Education Pride Parade banner

“Pride Parade is a one-day event, and it is important, but it also needs to shape the ongoing actions in carrying out those values into more everyday activities”, explains Enns. The Faculty of Education hopes the Pride Parade attendance keeps growing every year to further connections among the community. Other actions throughout the year include cohosting for the second year the symposium Strengthening the Status Queer: A Leadership Symposium for and by Queer People in October 2023. “Having Dr. Robert Mizzi, Canada Research Chair in Queer, Community, and Diversity in Education and the work that he is doing is a really prominent research area in our faculty”, said Enns.

At the beginning of this month, many of us marched in celebration of 2SLGBTQIA+. Now, in the final week of Pride Month, our peers at the University of Waterloo have experienced a heinous act of violence on their campus. The University of Manitoba extends our deepest sympathies and our solidarity against hate to our colleagues at the University of Waterloo. Our campuses should be places where we peacefully pursue knowledge and seek to benefit others.

Such a terrible incident compels us to reflect on the values we hold dear, and to reaffirm our commitment to combat all forms of discrimination. The University of Manitoba is determined to foster an inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment for all diverse members of our community. We firmly believe in the power and importance of equity, respect, and human dignity for all.

Yet we know that hate and ignorance continue to persist and impact systemically marginalized groups in very real and negative ways. It is all our responsibility to take action against all systems of oppression, dispel ignorance with education, and respond to hate with solidarity, compassion, protection, and support.

To our community members who experience targeted violence and hatred, we acknowledge your experiences. To all our community members, know that our university has robust safety protocols in place that are continually reviewed. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to become familiar with our emergency quick reference guide and to download our safety app for either iOS or Android. And please remember, and use if you need, the wellness supports available to faculty and staff, and students.

Our community is working hard to bring about lasting change through advocacy, action, research, and comprehensive policies that reflect our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. And our university is prioritizing education, awareness, and support services to address the root causes of violence, bigotry, and intolerance.

Thank you to everyone in our community who takes on this work and makes our campus and our world better with your courage and activism.

Sincerely,
Diane Hiebert-Murphy

Last year, we raised the Progress Pride flag to fly permanently in the heart of our Fort Garry campus, demonstrating the extension of that commitment to all who visit and engage with UM.

UM’s 2023 Pride celebrations are an exciting reflection of UM’s continued allyship, enthusiasm and support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The upcoming events are an opportunity for the UM community to gather and celebrate our pride with UM’s diverse communities.

University of Manitoba Pride events

All events are free and everyone is welcome!

Friday, May 26

Campus Pride Week Kick-off

Where: Atrium – Price Faculty of Engineering
Time: 10:30 a.m.

Details: Join us as we kick-off UM Campus Pride 2023. Following remarks from special guest speakers, all are invited to a reception with tea, coffee, snacks and other light refreshments.

Monday, May 29

Kids afternoon in the park

Family Resources – Office of the Vice-Provost (Academic Affairs) kid-friendly event

Where: Vimy Ridge Memorial Park
Time:  3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

What: Come out with the children in your life for activities such as rainbow beading and handprints, explore the lending library and enjoy snacks and light refreshments.

Registration is preferred.  Please RSVP to Francene Perehinec Francene.Perehinec@umanitoba.ca.

Monday, May 29

U of Them Climbing Club

Where: Bouldering Room, Frank Kennedy Centre
Time: 6 to 10 p.m.

What: UM Recreation Services continues to create welcoming and safe spaces for the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Come out and try your hand every Monday with the U of Them climbing group and the new Kilter Board, an adjustable 12-foot bouldering wall with light-up climbing holds and thousands of different routes available.

Tuesday, May 30

Pride: From Protest, to March, to Parade, to…Celebration?

Where: virtual event, Zoom link
Time: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

From Protest to March to Parade to… Celebration?” chronicling the history of Pride beginning with Marsha P. Johnson and the Paper Bag Pride Marches in Winnipeg compared to contemporary Pride Parades. But now what?… Celebration?

Join Ellie Caslake in looking at the years of Pride with stories from the first days of the Stonewall Riots, the first Pride Marches in Winnipeg with participants wearing paper bags over their heads to hide their identities, and the parades down Portage Avenue in Winnipeg. However, Queer activists across Canada are asking, “Where have all the flowers gone?” Is the lack of excitement around these events due to apathy, or are we in a utopia? Continue reading event details…

Wednesday, May 31

Pride button making

Where: First floor MPR, UMSU University Centre
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

UMSU with the Rainbow Pride Centre (RPC) will host a button making day so you can sport you own unique buttons at Pride. Drop by any time between 10-3 and enjoy Pride themes snacks and drinks.

For details, contact: vpsl@umsu.ca

Friday, June 2

UM Pride Ballroom Dance Party

Where: Ted Motyka Dance Studio, 460 Main Street – use back entrance off of the parking lot, magenta door
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

What: Join this ballroom dance class, taught by UM’s very own Horace Luong. Solo or with a partner this will be a great opportunity to meet members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and allies with UM and connect ahead of the Pride Parade on Sunday, June 4.

Sunday, June 4

Pride Winnipeg Parade: You belong here

Meet time: 10:30 a.m.
Meeting location: Memorial Boulevard

Parade: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Parade route: North on Memorial Boulevard, East down Portage Avenue to the Forks
Following the parade, all are free to enjoy the onsite entertainment, vendors and festival events.

What: Register to participate with UM’s Pride entry float and help us uphold our 2022 Parade Entry title for “Best Turnout”! By registering to walk or roll in the parade with UM, you’ll receive a signature UM t-shirt , mini UM Pride flags and UM Pride buttons. Come out with your friends, family (children and pets included) and join with faculty, staff, students and allies as we dance to DJ tunes, celebrate amongst the bubbles and enjoy the largest crowd in the parade.

Register to participate today!

Note: T-shirts will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis until supplies last. We encourage you to wear one if you have one from last year.

Thursday, June 29

Drag Queen Bingo

Time: 6 to 9 p.m.
Where: VW’s – UMSU University Centre
Hosted by: Lady Muse and Elsa MarquesaContact: vpsl@umsu.ca

Event details coming soon!