Efforts of Sakewew High School's Gay Straight Alliance group have taken students from that high school all the way to Toronto.
A number of students were there for the national OUTshine Gay-Straight Alliance summit in Toronto during mid-May.
EGALE Canada and the Toronto District School Board hosted the summit, with Gay-Straight Alliance groups from schools across Canada attending.
The event started May 17 to 20, with events taking place at Jarvis Collegiate and the Sheraton Centre Toronto, where the Sakewew club members stayed.
Students involved in the trip included Kayla Kahpeaysewat, Julianne Necroche, Chelsea Okanee, Sebastion Pewapsconias, Autumn Quewezance, and Bram Myo. They are Sakewew students in Grades 11 and 12.
Also joining them was Shayley Chief, a Grade 8 student at Lawrence School who is a member of the organization.
Ryan Jimmy, a teacher at Sakewew, acts as a facilitator for the group, as does the high school's vice-principal Reid Stewart. All of them except for Myo and Pewapsconias recently got together to speak to the Regional Optimist about their experiences at the summit.
Jimmy said the conference provided an opportunity for "GSAs to kind of brainstorm" and provide "a space for them to work together to see what they could do in their schools."
The Sakewew club, which is notable as the first GSA at a First Nations school in Canada, was one of those selected to take part.
"Not only did we get picked but we got sponsored to go so everything's paid for," said Kahpeaysewat.
EGALE Canada sponsored the club and paid for the expenses, including for flight. The club also did some of their own fundraising.
The first day of the conference featured introductions and presentations on what the GSA conference was about, and a banquet was held on the first day.
Kahpeaysewat said she did a 10-minute speech that first day describing how being involved in a GSA has changed her.
On the second day, they went to Jarvis Collegiate for panel sessions, with students able to pick topics of interest. Shayley said one of the sessions she attended involved a "two-spirited panel."
Jimmy said "two-spirited" is an "actual identity term" for First Nations gay and lesbian people. Members who identified as "two-spirited" shared their experiences at the panel.
Wrapping up the second day of activities was the Pink Prom at the Sheraton. Students dressed up in costumes. Jimmy reported some were wearing dresses regardless of their gender.
The students said that they liked the fact that people felt free to dress up in costumes and to get up and dance without being scared of what others might say. "You could show up with a unicorn costume, and no one would care," said Kahpeaysewat.
On the third day, there were two more sessions at Jarvis Collegiate and more meetings, and after that students returned to the hotel where films about gay and lesbian themes were screened. The films dealt with issues such as homophobia and were described as "very educational."
Meeting people from across Canada provided an opportunity to network with other students. Kahpeaysewat said a GSA Facebook page was created for all the students to participate in.
"Now we talk and network with each other with all these GSAs across Canada," she said.
For students from the Sakewew club, the experience provided lasting memories and additional inspiration in their efforts to promote awareness of gay and lesbian issues.
Julianne says she will remember "having the experience of going to the first GSA summit in Canada and meeting people that are going to help us out next year."
Chelsea said, "it was a great experience and very educational to be hearing from the other GSAs in Canada, and I enjoyed it."
The trip also provided the students with the experience of seeing the hustle and bustle of the big city.
They did some sightseeing, including a trip to the CN Tower as well as an excursion to Niagara Falls. They also rode on the top of a double-decker sightseeing bus in Toronto.
Particularly exciting was a visit at MuchMusic in Toronto, not far from their hotel, where they met some popular veejays including Lauren Toyota and Scotty Willats.
At one point the students ventured into the "gay village" in Toronto in the Church Street area. They mentioned that at one point one of them actually called out "I'm gay!" to others in the street. That prompted one of them to respond "you're not the only one!"
Overall, the trip has inspired the Sakewew GSA club to keep going with their efforts to promote gay and lesbian issues as well as other subjects such as anti-bullying.
Kahpeaysewat said she feels she has grown in confidence in her public speaking skills from the experience. She recounted being really nervous before giving her presentation at the conference but it went so well she said she wondered afterwards "what was I so nervous for? It went great."
Now she's enthusiastic about the idea of doing more public speaking. "I fell in love with the idea of speaking to large groups of people like that, and try and help them better their lives and inspire people. It becomes really easy after awhile."
Being involved in the club has proven to be a similar growth experience for other students. As the only elementary school student taking part in the trip, Shayley said she felt "so honored to go, because, well, I thought I was the youngest one there because everyone I met was either Gade 9 to Grade 12. I think I was the only Grade 8 there."
Her mom Noella was happy that Shayley was able to go to the conference at such a young age. She said she has noticed that Shayley's participation in the Sakewew GSA group has allowed her to develop her confidence and break her shyness.
"She was really quiet and shy at school, but after she joined this group, she became very outgoing and very sociable," Noella said, something the other students in the club noticed as well.
"I'm so happy for her that she joined this group. She has their support and GSA has my support, and I'm looking forward to her starting next year and having this group." Shayley plans to be a Grade 9 student at Sakewew next year.
With the trip behind them, the students are moving forward with their next major project - something inspired by their Toronto trip.
Their experience at the Pink Prom has encouraged them to stage a Pink Prom of their own in North Battleford.
The event is scheduled for June 20. While the location is yet to be finalized, the plan is for it to be open to students from all the high schools in the Battlefords.
