T alk OF THE WEEK

ARE YOU curious to learn more about B.C.’S Indigenous peoples but don’t know where to begin? Then take the time to visit the Vancouver Public Library’s Firehall branch (1455 West 10th Avenue) between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (November 3) to hear a presentation by long-time Vancouver resident and Tsimshian Nation member Lynda Gray. The former executive director of the Urban Native Youth Association will discuss everything from the medicine wheel to treaties to child welfare to the traditional acceptance of two-spirit (LGBT) Indigenous people—all of which was covered in her 2011 book, First Nations 101: Tons of Stuff You Need to Know About First Nations People. Shortly after it was released, she told the Georgia Straight that twospirit people were thought to be more spiritually attuned. “It wasn’t based on sexuality,” Gray said at the time. “It was based on the person and their being.”