Progress & Two-Spirit Flag Raising

Join us as The University of Winnipeg raises the Progress and Two-Spirit flags to kick off our Pride Week celebration.

Participants:

Gayle Pruden

Feather Talia

Vanessa Tait

Dancing Bear, also known as Gayle Pruden (she/her), sits with the Black Bear clan. She is a Kookum and Jingle Dress dancer from the Little Saskatchewan First Nation, located on Treaty 2 territory in Manitoba. 

Raised by her grandmother, grandfather and great grandfather, Dancing Bear is fluent in Anishinaabemowin and is the oldest of five siblings. Being a 2-Spirit Trans Woman who has danced more than 15 years, she says the gift of dance enriched her life with knowledge about the old ways of doing ceremony

Feather Talia (he/she/they) is a Two-Spirit drag queen who resides in Winnipeg and has been doing drag for almost six years. She is the pride of Muskowekwan First Nation, and represents her culture within her performances. She has won numerous titles, and shows her talents on different kinds of platforms. Relatively new to Winnipeg, Feather has been given the title of Indigiqueer Drag Comedian. She is here to bring you some sassy-yet-stupid entertainment! She will either have you gagged with her stunts or your guts hurting from laughter! Feather is the Mother of the House of Wolves and Queens.

Vanessa (Vee) Tait (she/her) was born and raised in northern Manitoba, and proud of her identity and roots as a Two-spirited Cree woman from O-pipon-na-piwin Cree Nation – South Indian Lake, Manitoba. As a Two Spirit Cree woman, she has come across many struggles and challenges. With guidance of her ancestors and kookums, she is reclaiming her power and place by building pathways of inclusion and safety mechanisms for her Two Spirit relatives, First Nations people, and Indigenous women. Vanessa is a survivor of gender-based violence and is now a strong advocate for her relatives; she understands the challenges, barriers, the systemic racism, and jurisdictional issues faced by Indigenous women and Two Spirit people and communities. She is the co-founder and past board member for Manitoba Moon Voices Inc., a non-profit Indigenous Women and gender-diverse organization.

Vanessa has her Master’s in Development Practice: Indigenous Development degree from the University of Winnipeg. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) Degree from the University of Manitoba (2012) and completed the Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program (Antigonish, Nova Scotia, 2011) and Building Local and Indigenous Knowledge for Community Resilience (Kenya, Africa, 2018) from Coady International Institute. In 2014, she achieved the designation of Certified Technician Aboriginal Economic Developer (TAED) from the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (Cando). Vanessa was a past academic member of the Health Information Research Governance committee (HIRGC) and a member of the Manitoba Research Alliance.