Kootenay Queer History Project

Queer history is a victim of rural isolation. Over the last century there are definite pockets of Queer communities surviving and thriving in the Columbia Basin but often these groups existed in quiet silos due to rural politics, religion, violence, and geography. Working with Kevin Allen, Historian in Residence at the Calgary Central Library, author of the best-selling book: Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary, and founder of the Calgary Gay History Project, we will preserve the regional Queer History which will result in a book, website, and display materials.

Queer History is entwined with advocacy for the rights and visibility of contemporary 2SLGBTQ+ communities. We need to save this rapidly disappearing history in rural areas where it has never been documented, adding to the erasure of 2SLGBTQ+ people.

More About This Project

This region, particularly the West Kootenay area, has a long history of 2SLGBTQ+ people creating change and claiming space. Our history is disappearing rapidly for a multitude of reasons but mainly elders moving to larger centres for health care and people passing away.

This region has a history of 2SLGBTQ+ people creating community, advocating for equality, promoting visibility, and simply being. We will examine how the traditional resource-based economies and their accompanying politics shaped the gender and sexual minority landscape and document the people and places that allowed the Queer community to exist; sometimes loudly, sometimes in silos, often hidden, but always there. Ultimately, the research will be compiled into a book and materials for museum and archival use, and public display both fixed and travelling.

We will work with member organizations of the Columbia Basin 2SLGBTQ+ community to assist with research in their hometowns, local museums, and the Nelson Queer Archives, to locate the people and places that contributed to creating and connecting the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the region.