Mackenzie Mountain School shows its pride
Norman Wells youth celebrated diversity and acceptance with its very first Pride Week
James Goldie
Northern News Services
Saturday, October 3, 2015
LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
"We've got to give our kids hope."
Mackenzie Mountain School held its first ever Pride Week, celebrating diversity and acceptance of LGBTQ people. The week culminated in a pride march through the community complete with banners and rainbow flags. - photo courtesy of Michael Duclos
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It was with this quote from American gay rights activist Harvey Milk in mind that staff at Mackenzie Mountain School in Norman Wells set about organizing the school's first-ever Pride Week: four days celebrating diversity and teaching students to accept each other no matter their sexuality or gender identity.
"The whole intent of the week was trying to educate the school and the community and I guess the greater Northwest Territories that love is love no matter if you love a boy or a girl, it doesn't matter," said principal Michael Duclos.
The week consisted of in-class readings, a movie night, workshops on homophobic language and finally a school-wide pride parade that marched through the community.
"We are junior-kindergarten to Grade 12 school so obviously we weren't trying to promote things that were beyond the scope of what a junior-kindergarten kid could handle," he said.
According to Duclos, he heard "only really good things" from students about the events, and that parents and teachers "mostly bought into it." He said that some parents were a little hesitant about the idea but after he explained to them that the events were about promoting tolerance "they were a little more on board."
Sarah Kelly, a teacher for Grades 8 to 10, was the driving force behind the week's events. It was under her guidance that Mackenzie Mountain launched Rainbow United -- the school's first Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) last year.
"Not only for the LGBT kids to have the right to feel safe but for other kids to have the right to learn to accept and love each other and learn about different identities," she said.
The NWT Human Rights Commission provided the school with a variety of age-appropriate books for different grades, with older students picking their own materials to read and teachers reading to younger classes about subjects like acceptance and different kinds of families.
For the movie night screening of Geography Club -- a movie about students starting a GSA -- about 40 people showed up.
"It was really cool to see how many people came out for that," said Kelly.
Like Duclos, she acknowledged that there was opposition from some parents, but not as much as she was expecting.
"I heard a lot more of it when I was involved in this in Ontario a few years back," she said. "A lot of people thought we were trying to turn kids gay and it's really important to share the message that no matter how hard somebody may try, you cannot change somebody's sexuality."
Kelly said that some people incorrectly assumed the pride week would be about sex education.
"If you say, 'Sally has a crush on Jimmy' in kindergarten, people's minds don't go there. So why do people's minds go there if it's two guys or two girls?"
The GNWT's Department of Municipal and Community Affairs provided funds to purchase buttons, t-shirts, banners and signs for the pride festivities.
Seventh grader Maggie Hodgson liked the movie night most with its free pizza and laid back, welcoming environment. She thought that all the pride festivities reflected the "judgment-free zone" of the school's GSA.
"It's more eye-opening to people," she said. "With Pride Week or pride events, you can at least see what (a GSA) is like without having to join or be part of it."
She said hopes that the pride week idea spreads to other communities in the NWT.
"I think it would be good if there were more in other schools," she said.
