THUNDER BAY – Kara Louttit has seen the city come a long way since she was a teenager.
Louttit said having a Pride Week, which opened on Sunday with a Two Spirit smudging ceremony, was unheard of more than a decade ago and shows great strides in acceptance and inclusivity.
“I think it’s important Pride has become such a big affair here in the city,” she said.
“Fifteen years ago, when I was a teenager, it wasn’t quite as open as it is now and for me to come back to Thunder Bay 15 years later and have a role in Pride has been amazing for me.”
Louttit was the coordinator of the event, which was held at noon in the Spirit Garden at Prince Arthur’s Landing.
The gathering featured a number of songs from the Thunder Mountain First Nations’ drumming group, as well as traditional prayers and smudging.
“The smudging ceremony involves clearing the mind and heart of any negativity and creating a positive atmosphere for the coming events later this week,” Louttit said.
“I find smudging allows the goodness, love and kindness to come out with your interactions with everybody in every day dealings.”
Thunder Pride co-chair Jessica Ross said it was important to organizers to include all demographics of the local community.
“It celebrates the really rich indigenous and Two Spirit community in Thunder Bay,” she said of opening the week with the ceremony.
“The community is so rich and so diverse you want something that caters to everybody.”
This is the third year for Thunder Pride, which will culminate next Saturday with their third annual parade and Pride in the Park.
Last year more than 2,000 people participated, a number which Ross hopes will increase.
The next Pride event is a breakfast which will be held at the Prince Arthur Hotel on Monday morning, beginning at 7:30 a.m. A full list of events can be found online.
