December 18, 2023
Story submitted by GSA Group of ABMHS.
“Fantastic, super fun day! Food was amazing and everyone was so nice and friendly”, Seven
“Conference was fun, I got to see people I know and had a great day and night” Lewis
Msit Kinu Conference was held November 16 and 17 at ABMHS. The GSA group at ABMHS took the initiative to hold this conference for the 2SLGBTQ+ students. The conference was put together to promote unity amongst students of various GSA groups from around the Island of Cape Breton. Msit Kinu Conference also provided education for those who are not members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The goal of the GSA is to provide a safe environment for all. The members of the local GSA groups had the opportunity to stay the evening together at ABMHS in Eskasoni. They planned various activities which included a dance and Drag show. The Drag show included local talent Cicero Crow and Nikitene, who were both very entertaining. Students from other schools along with their chaperones stayed overnight at the high school.
Friday was a great day for all students of ABMHS as well as visiting schools and those involved with organizing the conference. The opened up with the Female Drum Group playing the Honor song followed by opening remarks from Madonna Doucette. Madonna and her team from the Youth Project spent many hours planning which added to the success of the conference.
During the day on Friday, students were able to participate in a number of activities and workshops. The workshops included; Dream Catcher Making, Beading, Medicine Pouch Making, Transmasculine Workshop, Transfeminine Workshop, Kojua, Sexual Health Jeopardy, The Power of Resilience/Anti Bullying Workshop along with many others. To finish off the day the youth participated in a panel discussion facilitated by Madonna Doucette which was definitely one of the highlights of the day.
This conference was possible due to a grant from It Gets Better, Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey (generously donated the food for the conference), GSA of ABMHS, and the Youth Project. Prizes and decorations were generously donated by the Eskasoni Teachers Union. The members of the GSA group would like to thank everyone involved for such a great conference.
