SASKATOON - Summer camps can be a haven; a place to bond over shared identities and experiences and a catalyst for deep and abiding friendships.
For LGBTQ2S+ communities in Saskatchewan, options to experience the kinship of camp life with affirming programming continues to grow.
Nestled in the boreal forest, 40 kilometres north of Prince Albert, Camp Christopher at Christopher Lake has welcomed kids to camp for nearly 80 summers.
This year, under the camp’s colourful welcome sign, a long blue banner also hung from the main building.
“We love our gender creative kids!” the sign reads, promoting a week dedicated to LGBTQ2S+ kids and their friends, family and allies.
Camp Caterpillar lets kids enjoy all the games, songs and camp activities with a friendly and supportive group of people.
“For lots of kids, these were brand-new experiences, because they just could not know for certain that other environments were going to be safe and comfortable for them,” said camp director Nicole Gutka.
Many summer camps separate campers into “boy’s camp” and “girl’s camp,” or along age lines. But at Camp Caterpillar, Gutka says inclusion is the top priority.
“We have so many folks here who are used to being the odd one out,” she said. “Being the only one in their school or the only one in their group. So, when they come together, they are so inclusive and welcoming.”
Campers enjoy hanging out in mixed-age and mixed-gender groups during meal times and activities.
“This camp group is happy to be here and be with each other. To me, this is what camp is for," Gutka said.
Gutka says other summer camps that want to support and encourage their LGBTQ2S+ campers might be surprised by how easy — and necessary — it is.
“Kids are kids,” she said. “Just because we’ve put these categories on them, or have these preconceived notions of what it means to be a certain kind of kid, doesn’t make it true.”
In all corners of the province this summer, LGBTQ2S+ people are pushing back on those rigid categories — heading outdoors to find, build and celebrate a full spectrum of queer community.
‘Here, I can just truly be me’
On a winding road past the northern village of Beauval, a handmade sign points the way to Pine River.
The 500-kilometre journey from Saskatoon leads to OUT on the Land — OUTSaskatoon’s yearly culture camp, where two-spirit people of all ages come to celebrate and revitalize traditional teachings.
Nap Daigneault is a knowledge keeper from Pine River who hosts the annual camp.
"I love meeting different people; I always have. So it doesn’t matter who comes here. They’re still people. They’re all people. And we need to love each other as much as we can," Daigneault said.
As campers arrived, Daigneault was in the middle of it all: Hammering in tent poles, leading people into the bush to gather mint and berries and introducing words and phrases in Cree.
Around Daignault’s picnic table, old and new friends excitedly recapped Chelazon Leroux’s latest appearance on Canada’s Drag Race while sipping tea made from herbs gathered around the campsite.
During a lull in the conversation, first-time camper Meagan Nolan asked for advice on writing the word ‘resilient’ in Cree syllabics. They hope to get the word as a tattoo to represent their two-spirit Métis life experience.
For Nolan, coming to OUT on the Land is part of her cultural journey — a chance to dive deep into Indigenous spirituality and ceremony.
“I’m coming back to the circle, as they call it,” Nolan said. “So I’m taking any opportunity I can to learn our culture and be part of it.”
But that hasn’t always been easy, especially when the separation between men’s and women’s cultural roles is strictly enforced.
For example, Nolan says some of the protocols related to ribbon skirts can turn an affirming experience into something alienating, when wearing one may not reflect a person’s identity.
“If you want us to come back to culture, don’t scare us away and put us back in the closet,” they said.
At OUT on the Land, people can choose whether they wear a ribbon skirt or shirt and engage with other gendered traditions and roles based on what feels right for them.
At this culture camp, Indigenous teachings and two-spirit identity are celebrated together and intertwined.
“I don’t have to be worrying about what I wear or how I act or how I sit,” said two-spirit Knowledge Keeper Jennifer Lenny, who came to camp with their daughter this year.
“Here, I can just truly be me.”
‘Like a family reunion’
While Camp Caterpillar and OUT on the Land are quickly becoming queer Saskatchewan summer traditions, both are still relatively new — two and six years old, respectively.
This recent enthusiasm for affirming summer camps speaks to a deep longing for supportive, safe and welcoming LGBTQ2S+ community spaces.
But that longing has been here for generations, and so have the people finding ways to meet this need.
When Jim Saville moved back to his rural hometown more than three decades ago, he found himself “four and a half hours away from any gay community.”
Saville had close friends and was surrounded by activities while living in Saskatoon, but returning home reminded him of the isolation he experienced in his youth.
"I just thought it would be fun to invite the LGBTQ community to come to me," he recalls.
So, every summer for the past 33 years, Saville has hosted an LGBTQ weekend — the ‘Ranch Rendezvous’ — at his bed and breakfast in Eastend, Sask.
Around 60 people showed up over the August long weekend this year with their tents and RVs.
During the day, they played lawn games and explored the area. At night, they celebrated theme parties with extravagant costumes.
For Saville, the Ranch Rendezvous is “like a family reunion,” where friends and cherished people get together every year. Many of the guests — some now in their late 80s — have been coming back summer after summer, and a few have even met their spouse or life partner here.
"I think it’s so healthy to get together and share experiences, share the laughter and the dancing," said Saville.
Of course, camping season can’t last forever.
As the days get shorter and the first hints of fall weather start to blow into Saskatchewan, it’s nearly time to pack up the tents and sleeping bags for the year.
But for the LGBTQ2S+ people who spent this summer reuniting with old friends and making new ones, learning cultural teachings, dancing, singing, swimming and finding communities, those memories will last all through the year — until it’s time to head out to the campground again.
