My spiritual name is Ai’ssoo which translates to Warrior. My income tax name is, Gerald Ratt. I am a registered “Indian” under the Indian Act of 1876 with the federal government, I am a child of a survivor of Indian Residential School, and because of this I carry the pain and trauma that was inflicted onto my family, community, and Nation at the hands of church and government officials.
I wrote at the start of this month about how important it is for those of us in the 2SLGBTQ+ community to tell our stories. Last year during PRIDE I had the pleasure of welcoming several guest bloggers to tell their stories, and I’m delighted to reshare each of these stories this week.
If you know me, you know I self-identify as a gay Mexican man, but more specifically, as a gay Mexican immigrant. Since 2006, at the sweet age of 20, I have had the opportunity of engaging in great life-forming experiences.
Around the world June is PRIDE month, a month that celebrates the beauty of the rainbow of identities in the 2SLGBTQ+ community. It’s also a time to celebrate the progress that’s been made and to honor the work of those who came before us for their decades of advocacy work, struggles and loss.
I found mine in an unexpected place. In fact, it took moving continents to find them. A stroke of luck, a dose of curiosity, and a commitment to myself. I started my graduate school journey in 2018 when I moved to Cambridge, England to take a ‘quick Masters’ for 9 months -- at least that was the original plan -- and here we are three years later.