More than 100 Sitkans decorated in rainbows and holding signs that read “Love is a terrible thing to hate” and “Protect Queer Kids,” gathered in Totem Square on Saturday for the culmination of Pride Month.
The event was put on by Sitka Pride, which aims to build equity and respect for LGBTQ2+ people in Sitka through accessible programming and inclusive events year round.
Quinlyn Holder, who is Yup’ik, Athabaskan, and white, is a Sitka Pride organizer. They told the gathered crowd that growing up in Sitka, they felt like they had to move away because they were queer.
“I felt like I could feel how different I was, and I went east,” Holder said. “But I came back because I was Native. There was something that I had to do here. I had to come home. I couldn’t run anymore. And every time I came home, I realized that there were a lot, and lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of queer people here. We have always been here.”
Michael Mausbach helped start the current iteration of Sitka Pride. They began their speech by asking the crowd to look around at the people standing beside them — “at the families, the friends, the neighbors,” “at the kids waving flags,” “at the elders, queer and allied,” — and reminded them of the importance of community.
“Today, I hope we honor the people who came before us: those who struggled, organized, celebrated, resisted, and imagined a future they might never get to see, because we owe them so much,” Mausbach said. “But I also hope that we honor something that’s easier to overlook. It’s the people walking beside us. Because these are the people we’ll call tomorrow. These are the people we’ll laugh with next week, we’ll dance with tonight at the Mean Queen. These are the people that we’ll grieve with, celebrate with, cook with, create with, and keep building this place together.”
Following the speeches, the marchers headed up Lincoln St. led by people carrying the American, Alaska, and Pride flags, before walking back to Totem Square accompanied by a police vehicle escort.
