Historically, the LGBT community and Indigenous people have been closely connected in their struggle for equal and fair treatment in Canada. However, that connection has been partially forgotten and a former professor and activist said its time to realign both movements in order to move forward.

“There are these major historical connections and I want to bring them back into people’s view because I think people have tended to forget them,” said Gary Kinsman, a professor emeritus at Laurentian University and long time social justice, gay liberation, anti-capitalist activist.

Kinsman gave a talk at Lakehead University last week where he outlined some of the past interrelationships between LGBT and Indigenous struggles.

“I’m going to talk about how the police force as a social institution, which was initially formed in the context of Canada in response to Indigenous people, as part of the colonization of Indigenous people, and how they are quite central to the oppression of both Indigenous people and all LGBT people,” he said. Read more via TB News Watch