How saying ‘I’m gay’ in Heiltsuk connects this Indigenous man to his ancestors

‘That word makes me so happy,’ Steven Hall says with a smile.

Steven Hall says he went through a bunch of different struggles of identity,” from being part of the LGBT community, to religion, to accepting that he’s from a lower income family — “and not being ashamed of that.”

His biggest struggle, he says, was embracing his identity as Heiltsuk. Throughout, his language has been his anchor. 

This video captures a bit of his journey — and the joy he feels when he expresses his sexuality in his own language, the language of his ancestors. 

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