Harlan
Harlan is a member of the Saddle Lake Reserve, White Fish Lake Band of The Cree First Nation, and grew up up on his mother’s reserve, The Beaver Lake Indian Reserve. Harlan describes his experience of growing up a “sissy boy Indian” (his term) and how these fundamental characteristics have developed into the foundation of his strengths. Harlan is an avid advocate and activist for Two-Spirit people. While living in New York he founded the North East Two Spirit Society. Harlan is also the founder and managing editor of the Two spirit Website: TwoSpiritJournal.com He has served on the Presidential Advisory Committee on HIV and AIDS (Obama appointed). Currently Harlan is a PhD Candidate at UBC doing Two-Spirit research and is developing the first Two Spirit childrens book entitled: Grandma Susie Can’t Go Hunting
Harlan’s story is one of a series of stories recorded in conjunction with the Gender Ally project. In partnership with Artemis Place Alternative High School in Victoria, onmyplanet.ca has developed a series of 15 workshops on Trans, Two-Spirit and Gender non-conforming inclusion. All workshop videos are viewable online, and all workshop materials are free to download. onmyplanet.ca gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Victoria Foundation on the genderally.ca project.
Velvet
Velvet is an activist and an early pioneer in getting the BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) to pay for transition (corrective) surgeries. She is a fetish sex worker in Vancouver, and has been an activist for sex workers for years (esp. prior to the investigation of the Picton murders) in BC and across Canada. She was a founder of Westenders Against Violence Everywhere (WEAV) in Vancouver and lobbied extensively to challenge the prostitution laws in Canada.
You can find Velvet online at: velvetsteele.com/
Velvet’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Symposium, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016.The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Kori
Kori lives quite happily in the country growing food, making babies and being self sufficient. Kori has been active in the non-profit service sector for many years and now runs online classes and workshops helping people to build community and work together in larger networks such as ‘Resilience Building for Trans Folks and Our Allies‘. Kori can be found online HERE
Kori’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Chase, Part 2
For some time now, Chase has been on the front line of all things Trans in the Yukon Territory. He was part of the long and persistent lobbying that lead the Yukon Territorial Government to include Gender Identity and Expression in their Human Rights Code (2017). He was the first Yukon resident to receive funded gender affirming surgery. He was also the catalyst for the Whitehorse Women’s Hockey Association to establish a trans inclusive policy. Chase is a trans educator, activist and public speaker. Catch up on the latest from Chase at: chaseblodgett.com See Chase’s first story with onmyplanet Here
Chase’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Maria
Maria has been a pioneering trans activist in Sweden and around the world for many years. She talks about some of her more challenging moments growing up and going on to spearhead some of the ground breaking shifts in human rights for trans people.
Maria’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
(Early in the video Maria likens a Swedish psychologist that she saw as a child to prominent Canadian psychologist Ken Zuker (Psychologist-in-Chief, and Head of the Gender Identity Service at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health for many years) who was of the opinion that gender non-conforming children should wait till the age of 18 to make a decision about their gender – forcing them to live as their assigned gender until then.)
Mo
Mo is a queer filmmaker and wants to start a queer RocknRoll band. Mo talks about being in the music scene in Montreal in the 80s, coming out and making their first film. Mo is now a tenured professor at UVic, and has recently completed their first feature film Two 4 One, a trans themed film set in Victoria, BC. Mo was also on the Steering Committee for the Moving Trans History Forward conference at UVic, 2016
Mo’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Steen
Steen, a writer and performance artist, talks about marrying young, being a mother and how feminism brought her into her queer identity.
Steen’s story is one in a series recorded at World Pride in Toronto, Ontario in 2014. Heart felt thanks go to the sponsors of this series: Media Net in Victoria, BC, Trinity Square Video in Toronto and The Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Lynch History Grant. Special thanks to Milada Kovacova at Trinity.
Rupert
Rupert is an incredibly accomplished trans activist, author and psychotherapist who has been blazing Trans and LGB trails for over four decades. His prolific body of work and accomplishments speak to his dedication to the communities. Rupert has received a number of awards for his work and is recognized in the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives’ portrait collection: Here.
Rupert’s story is one in a series recorded at World Pride in Toronto, Ontario in 2014. Heart felt thanks go to the sponsors of this series: Media Net in Victoria, BC, Trinity Square Video in Toronto and The Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Lynch History Grant. Special thanks to Milada Kovacova at Trinity.
Sandy
Sandy talks about growing up and coming out in South Western Ontario. She began volunteering with People Living With AIDS at the beginning of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Sandy shares her continuing insights from working in this field, about the meaning of family, and reaching her fifties.
Sandy’s story is one in a series recorded at World Pride in Toronto, Ontario in 2014. Heart felt thanks go to the sponsors of this series: Media Net in Victoria, BC, Trinity Square Video in Toronto and The Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Lynch History Grant Special thanks to Milada Kovacova at Trinity.
Andrée
Andrée talks about coming out in a small town in Quebéc and eventually finding the lesbian community in Montréal. Andrée has worked for most of her life on LGBT political causes including being on the board of the Canadian AIDS Society and is still involved with LGBT issues in her current position at CSN – the Confédération Des Syndicats Nationaux (Confederation of National Trade Unions). Andrée tells her story in both French and English.
Andrée’s story is one in a series recorded at World Pride in Toronto, Ontario in 2014. Heart felt thanks goes to the sponsors of this series: MediaNet in Victoria, BC and Trinity Square Video in Toronto and The Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Lynch History Grant. Special thanks goes to Milada Kovacova at Trinity.