Fireweed Kinship Society
Our purpose is to support Indigenous Two-Spirit, LGBTQQIA+, and Indigiqueer youth and their kinship relations by building connections to language, culture, ceremony, and land through intergenerational land-based learning and community.
Fireweed Kinship Society is a non-profit society that supports the work of tapahtêyimôkamik and okimaw kihêw mêkwanak.
Folks join us at many different life stages, from awâsis (child) to Elder, from being raised in culture to reconnecting for the first time.
tapahtêyimôkamik (humble lodge)
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Focused on inclusive rites of passage with Indigenous 2S/LGBTQIA+ youth.
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Aims to nurture the spirit fire that exists within each of us to learn and embody our kinship roles and responsibilities.
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Gathers monthly to learn the laws of the land through ceremony, language, and land-based learning including Indigenous understandings of diverse sexualities and genders.
okimaw kihêw mêkwanak
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Offers a supportive space for parents, family, and friends of 2S/LGBTQIA+ youth who want to practice traditional kinship systems from nêhiyaw and Indigenous worldviews
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Co-founded in 2015 with Roxanne Tootoosis, Lana Whiskeyjack and James Knibb-Lamouche.
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Formerly known as Indigenous PFLAG or Indigenous Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
What We Do
Some of our activities
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nêhiyaw understandings of queerness and diverse genders
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2S Fire camp
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Indigenous 2S neurodiversity gatherings
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Feast protocols
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Sweat lodges
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Naming ceremonies
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Walking in beauty
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Hide tanning
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Moccasin teachings
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2-Spirit humour and joy
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Tobacco teachings and Natural Laws
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nêhiyawêwin (Cree language) lessons
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Dogsledding and hand games
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Beadwork
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Cooking
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Self-defence
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Storytelling
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Outdoor skills
Two-Spirit Fast Camp
Things to Know, if You'd Like to Join Us
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We have protocols that we ask everyone to follow for every gathering, including that everyone contributes however they can and respects gender and sexual diversity
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We are primarily nehiyâw based, though we have folks from different Indigenous backgrounds who join us
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We ask that folks who are newer take some time to watch, observe, and learn as we build relationships
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We ask that people spend some time with us to build those committed relationships through other gatherings before we extend invites to ceremony.
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We are a lodge, and not a drop-in - we know that life happens and certainly don't expect people to attend everything, but we our lodge is for folks who want to be good relatives and contribute to being good medicine for themselves and others
Our Board
All members of our board are Indigenous and Two-Spirit, Queer, and/or parenting Indigenous 2S/LGBTQIA+ young adults.