April 13, Sakewew students stood united against bullying and homophobia, as they celebrated the Day of Pink.
The Day of Pink originated in Nova Scotia, when a student was bullied and threatened with violence because he wore a pink shirt to school. Hearing of the situation, two Grade 12 students bought 50 pink shirts and e-mailed all their friends to support them by wearing pink. But as word spread, nearly the whole school showed up wearing pink, some from head to toe.
Hearing this story at a conference, members of Sakewew's Gay-Straight Alliance decided they, too, would join hundreds of schools and communities across Canada in fighting discrimination.
The students presented their case before City council, sharing sobering statistics on the effects of bullying, including increased rates of suicide, and asked that the City support their cause by declaring April 13 Day of Pink and raising a flag to commemorate the day.
Pink shirts, with the slogan "I celebrate diversity," were also distributed to the mayor and council members.
During their regular council meeting, April 11, council voted to declare April 13 the Day of Pink and raise the flag.
At 9:30 a.m., students from Sakewew, John Paul II and North Battleford Comprehensive gathered in front of City Hall and were joined by Mayor Ian Hamilton and Councilor Ray Fox, all wearing pink.
The members of the Gay-Straight Alliance, Alyssa and Shania Benson, Brayden and Adam Wright, Terry and Sherry Wuttunee, Robbie Tootoosis and Anita Petit, were the first to arrive and didn't let the cold wind deter them from their goal.
Sakewew vice-principal Reid Stewart said, "It's really encouraging to see how much a small group of people can create change."
At 10:30, a presentation featuring Alex Wilson, a University of Saskatchewan professor whose research and community projects include creating tools to assess violence and safety in schools and researching gay, lesbian and "two-spirit" stories in Northern Canada.
Wilson was joined by future teachers, Ryan Jimmy of Onion Lake First Nation, also a former Sakewew student, Raelyn Favel of North Battleford and Laurie-Ann Moosomin and Kari McDonald of Mosquito First Nation.
Wilson and Jimmy discussed negative stereotypes and their effects with the audience.
"You've probably heard the saying, 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,'" said Wilson. "It's kind of untrue because words do hurt people."
Wilson pointed to the saying 'that's so gay' and showed two anti-discrimination commercials on Youtube. In one, a group of boys in a restaurant pointed to a statue, saying, "that's so gay." Wanda Sykes, a comedian and actress, stands up and tells them not to call something gay when they actually mean it's stupid. Sykes said it's the equivalent of her thinking a pepper shaker on their table is dumb and saying, "Man, this pepper shaker is so 16-year-old boy with a cheesy moustache," obviously referring to one of the adolescents.
Wilson also explained the meaning behind the term "faggot," which originally meant a bundle of sticks used to start a fire. In medieval Europe, people were burned for being witches, or even being different, and the term faggot began to be applied to people who were burned at the stake, referring to them as kindling to start fires.
Wilson added Christopher Columbus burned aboriginals on a regular basis, singling out those who did not conform to European ideals.
"There have always been gay people in First Nations," she said. "If people are denied their identity, then sickness happens."
Jimmy discussed the pink triangle, explaining it is a symbol often used to denote gay people. He told the audience, the pink triangle was affixed to the shirts of gay men during the holocaust, singling them out to be killed in gas chambers.
"Now, it is a symbol of pride," he said.
After the presentation, Favel, Moosomin and McDonald spoke to the audience about how they would encourage students and other teachers to stand up against discrimination.
"Be involved," said Favel. "Find a way to be involved in the things that are important to you."
Following prayers, the students and other audience members were invited to come and shake the hands of the presenters.
Grade 12 student Adam Wright said "I think it was great for students to get together and support diversity."
Wright, who recently joined the Gay-Straight Alliance, said, "I really disliked homos, but then I became friends with some of them."
He said he's learned that it's not right to judge people based on their appearances, gender, or sexual orientation.
"You can't just group people together like that," he said.
