Pivot is a FREE community health leadership program for 2SLGBTQIA+ people who are looking to lead change in their communities and improve 2SLGBTQIA+ health. Pivot is designed to improve health literacy, as well as teach participants how to develop and implement community-driven responses to the challenges facing our communities. This program is in partnership with the Community-Base Research Centre.

Pivot 2.0 Newfoundland and Labrador 2021

In January 2021, CBRC partnered with Quadrangle NL (http://www.thequadnl.com/) to deliver Pivot 2.0 in Newfoundland and Labrador. This leadership program is focused on building capacity in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to address systemic health inequities. Pivot participants created “Refocusing the Spectrum:Indigenous Reflections on Sexuality, Gender, & Health outside of Colonialism.” - a virtual art gallery and panel to show/talk about the intersectionality of sexuality, gender, health, and Indigeneity.

Refocusing the Spectrum:Indigenous Reflections on Sexuality, Gender, & Health outside of Colonialism.

We welcome you to view the Pivot 2021 Program multimedia project, a partnership between Quadrangle NL and the Community-Based Research Centre that focuses on the narratives of Indigenous peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador, relating to the concepts of gender, sexuality and health. We recognize that the land on which we conduct our work is the unceded and unsurrendered ancestral homelands of the Beothuk; the island of Ktaqmkuk (colonially known as Newfoundland) is the current and ancestral homeland of the Mi’kmaq; Labrador as the current and ancestral homeland of the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut and the Innu of Nitassinan. With this in mind the Pivot 2021 Program participants reached out to Indigenous organizations and individuals to support the development of this collection of shared pieces and Refocusing the Spectrum:Indigenous Reflections on Sexuality, Gender, & Health outside of Colonialism panel (Being held on Saturday August 21st over Zoom at 7pm-9pm Newfoundland Time/ 6:30pm-8:30pm Labrador Time).

Title of piece : Family History: Don't Ask Don't Tell

Artist name & pronouns: Brian Halbot (She/They)

Artist bio: Brian Halbot is from West coast NL and comes from mixed indigenous(Inuk, Mi'kmaq) and French background. They graduated from Grenfell Campus in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with artwork focusing on identity of self and the natural world.

Description of work: Printed photo (11 x 11) of the artist sitting at the bottom of a set of stairs, looking straight into the camera with white acrylic paint covering the mouth and eyes on the photo so they are not viewable.

Title of piece : A collection of Nicole Cox dreamcatchers and beaded work

Artist name & pronouns: Nicole Cox (She/Her)

Artist bio: Nicole Cox is an Ojibwe artist who makes dreamcatchers and jewellery using natural materials and semiprecious stones.

Description of work: Leather dreamcatchers and beaded jewellery.

Interested in learning more about the subject?

Watch the panel that was recorded on August 21, 2021, where the two-spirit panelists answered several questions around the topic from their views. The panel included Host Denise Cole, and panelists Sarah Hannon, Jude Benoit, Stel Raven and Riley Yesno.

Event Bios

Denise Cole (she/they/he): is a Two Spirit Inuk Labradorian. Living in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, they coordinate a youth sexual health project at the Labrador Friendship Centre. Denise sits on various collectives including Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance, Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, Grand Riverkeepers Labrador, and Safe Alliance. Gifted the name “Spotted Elk'', they are mentored by Indigenous guides to walk a spiritual path as a land protector and knowledge holder.

Stel Raven - is an Indigenous two-spirit, queer & trans person of Inuk, Cree & European heritage. They have a Master of Social Work and run a private practice specializing in queer & trans wellness and healing from complex trauma.

Riley Yesno - is a queer Anishinaabe writer, researcher, and public speaker from Eabametoong First Nation. She has experience working at all levels of change-making, has travelled the world public speaking, has been published in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Maclean’s, and many others. She is currently a Canadian Journalism Foundation Fellow, a Yellowhead Institute Research Fellow, a Massey College Junior Fellow and is beginning her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto.

Jude Benoit - is Mik'maq and is part of the Kitpu clan. They are a land and water defender of Ktaqmkuk. Jude is also a Two spirit person and has been an advocate for the Two Spirit and Trans community for more than a decade. They are the co-founder of multiple mutual aid grassroots groups including The Indigenous Activist Collective, Peace, Love N' Pride and the 2SLGBTQIA+ mutual aid group.

Sarah Hannon - is a two-spirit artist from St. John's. They design and craft contemporary beadwork jewelry in everyday and powwow styles, and most recently have begun seriously studying traditional Mi'kmaw beadwork and regalia-making.