“I've always been very curious and creative and passionate about helping people feel seen and safe in spaces where they spend their time, specifically in places that I never had that,” shares Dene Guillas, thinking of how he worked to make his daughter’s schools safe, his work environments and community programs, too.

Guillas grew up in Manitoba, having lived in both urban and rural environments. He lives in Winnipeg and has a 21 year old daughter. He is married and is a Two Spirit individual with Métis heritage. He’s been living life as his true self for seven and a half years, something that has created distance from his family since he was assigned female at birth. He is learning about his culture and traditions, not having been exposed to them growing up and just reconnecting three years ago.

When it comes to maintaining his mental health, Guillas finds going into nature and spending time around trees helps him feel reconnected and reenergized. Exercising also helps his mental and physical health. They also have eleven cats in the family home, something he really loves. Working for Psychology Canada, he’s learned so much about what can help. From breathing exercises, tidying his space, to playing basketball, he’s got lots of things that get him through hard times. He’s also always on the lookout for new activities and hobbies. Rest is important to him, as are joy and ceremony.

Initially feeling lost in his career and identity after high school, he came to the realization, “helping people, find themselves, find safety, be understood, feel empowered, just really resonated with me and it felt like people were drawn to that as well.” He became a carpenter by trade at one point because he liked working with his hands and making things but he was too far away from his family where he was working. He went on to work to create safer environments for older adults, working around fall prevention. From there he ended up with a 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive resource centre, moving into one of their leadership roles in their education department, trying to create safe spaces in schools.

Over time, he realized he wanted to do things his own way and created Braiding Colours Consulting Company with his wife. The two are using their queer lived experience to develop workshops, resources and share what they know about Two Spirit identities and 2SLGBTQ people in schools and with Connected North. Their goal is to make their information accessible to rural and Northern communities, something made possible through virtual learning.

His advice to Indigenous students considering leaving home to pursue their education is full of empathy. He recognizes how scary and overwhelming it can be to leave home. “We always worry about fitting in into places, or finding our people, and being away from those folks who have raised you like your family or community definitely feels like you might be losing a part of yourself…Try to remember who you are and where you do come from, and carry those things that resonate with you, whether that's your culture, your teachings, the good memories and the good connections that you have with folks, just wherever you go, and remember that you're not alone. You can always reach out for support, whether that's friends, mentors, organizations, new elders or community members and knowledge keepers. Leaving home doesn't mean that you're leaving yourself behind. It's just about bringing your roots into new spaces and opportunities so that you can flourish and thrive and not just worry about surviving. There are spaces for you where you can be seen,” Guillas urges.

If Guillas could tell his younger self a message it would be, “You are enough, just as you are in this moment. It may not be exactly who you want to be, but it's a journey. You don't need to change who you are to fit in. The things that make you different are the things that make you unique and beautiful, and they're your gifts. It's okay to also take your time figuring out who you are and what your path looks like, because life is not a race. There's no one way to do things. There's no timeline that you have to live up to. Just trust in yourself, trust in all the challenges that you will face that will help you grow, because you have survived everything up to this point, and so that means anything else that is put in your way, you will also survive.”

When it comes to inspiration, Guillas says, “I am inspired by our youth of today, their creativity, their energy, their strength, their passion for change and seeing things evolve.” He’s also inspired by the ancestors and all they went through and his younger self and all they went through.

In closing, Guillas urges, “Let's celebrate each other's gifts. Let's not hide those. Let's share them. Be open to hearing everyone's lived experiences.”

Passionate about helping people feel seen and safe, Dene Guillas does his best to create the kinds of spaces he never had. A married Métis Two-Spirit person and parent, Guillas brings his lived experience to his work to help others thrive at work, school and in community programs. Reconnecting with his culture, he’s finding his way to parts of his identity he was separated from by colonization.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.