Innovative sex-ed workshops sweeping across territory
by Renée Francoeur
Northern Journal, February 12, 2013
What does the new wave of sexual education look like in the NWT?
It wears pink feathered boas and glittering silver wigs. It’s artsy and fun, full of laughter and empowerment.
A three-hour drive past wintery forest and frosted bison led FOXY to Fort Providence, a little community that’s near the widely publicized Deh Cho Bridge.
Situated only an hour’s drive outside of Yellowknife, Behchoko is a relatively easy community for us to reach. Although this was our first workshop there, we definitely hope to return because we were only able to work with a handful of the girls from the school.
Instead of chartering to Fort McPherson, we decided to drive (thank god, those little planes are horrifying in my opinion)- and what a drive it was. The team started off on the Dempster Highway and we were all immediately astonished by the beauty of the sun rise we were about to take in. The entire way –unless asleep- the team was trying to soak in all the scenery, because we know that the chance to see such beauty doesn’t come often.
Despite the freezing cold weather, our charter landed and we went to the lovely little Inn, where we met some people travelling for business. We had an incredibly warm room, and three cozy little beds. The team felt right at home in our quaint little Inn.
Travelling in the north. Good lord. You never quite know what you’ll end up with, or where. We were lucky for the most part, as all three of us did make it to Good Hope without much trouble. Unfortunately not all our luggage did. Somehow, when we changed flights in Norman Wells, our beloved giant red suitcase did not manage to make the connection and ended up in Inuvik or somewhere, we’re still not too sure.
Colville Lake has a population of 126 people, but with the addition of four FOXY ladies, the population was 130. The FOXY team tries to include the smaller and more remote Northern communities, as girls in these communities may have less access to sexual health resources than those in larger communities. After arriving at the airport (which consisted of one small room and some bathrooms), the team set off to the B&B we would be staying at, a hop skip and a jump away from where we would be holding the workshop. We got comfortable, and had a good night’s sleep in anticipation for the busy day ahead of us.
The FOXY team was eager as ever to get to Tulita, NT, as it was the first workshop we would be doing to start off the new season of FOXY workshops. After travelling by plane to Norman Wells, the team was chartered to the small community and greeted by the owner of the Hotel, who kindly gave us a ride to where we would be staying.
Being surrounded by a group of people passionate about one subject is always a strong feeling of unity and collectiveness. NWT’s 1st Pride Festival went above and beyond, proving that point without any doubt. The people who came out to celebrate the LGBTQ community turned out to be an honest, open-minded, and uninhibited crowd, which contributed to a warm atmosphere with a touch of goofy humor. Maybe small in numbers, the people were not at all small in personality. With this supportive gathering I didn’t even feel nervous going up with Makenzie and Jessie to lead a FOXY workshop.
Some people have to wait a whole lifetime to get their name on a star or billboard; my name is everywhere here in Norman Wells. The river, street signs, mountains, and the school all happen to bear the name Mackenzie (mind you with a different spelling), and I can’t avoid feeling somewhat at home. From our arrival, the staff of Mackenzie school is very accommodating, even picking us up from our hotel before the workshop so that we won’t have to lug Ruby, our workshop suitcase, to the school.