Nunavut Pride Society begins assembling board of directors

The Nunavut Pride Society, an emerging territory-wide LGBTQ advocacy and support organization, is not a hopeful dream — it’s an action plan.

Iqaluit-based activists Del Drachenberg and Siku Rohas are the co-leads.

“We need a good foundation for it to rest on and right now we’re building that,” Drachenberg said in an interview on Wednesday.

The society’s mandate includes assisting would-be LGBTQ organizers to establish Pride committees in every Nunavut community and partner with allies.

Since publicizing their vision 10 months ago, they have filled two board positions and maintain an email chain of 40 members from around the territory.

Society secretary Nicole Giles, who recently came out as lesbian, signed up for her role during the group’s first meeting at the Iqaluit Centennial Library last summer, which brought 20 people to the table.

“It’s really a comfort to know that there are a huge number of people who feel the same way that I do,” Giles said in a phone interview on Friday. “To have so many safe spaces, to have so many safe people — it’s amazing.”

Drachenberg hosts quarterly art workshops at the library, which are funded with a grant from CUSO International. The group stays connected with peers from the Northwest Territories and the Yukon and is looking to build relationships throughout the country.

In Whitehorse in late May, Drachenberg attended an event for trans-LINK Canada Network, a Toronto-based organization that supports transgender and gender-diverse survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

“Communities across the country can provide both guidance and support on this journey,” Drachenberg said.

Meanwhile, the society regularly receives messages from educators, nurses and parents asking for advice or support. Some emails come from youth who ask questions or simply express solidarity.

“I am very proud of the youth in Nunavut,” Drachenberg said. “It makes me very hopeful for the future.”

Giles is coordinating a Pride-themed karaoke night at Iqaluit’s NuBrew Tap Room Friday evening. Donations will be collected in support of the Nunavut Pride Society.