Two gay Native Americans served as grand marshals for some of the largest gay pride parades in the country.

Richard LaFortune, a Yupik from Alaska, served as grand marshal of the Twin Cities GLBT Pride Parade in Minneapolis. Randy Burns, a Paiute, was the grand marshal of the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. Both events were held over the weekend.

The Bay Area parade coincides with the 17th annual International Two Spirit Conference sponsored by the Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits. The conference is being held this week in Cazadero.

Get the Story:
Celebration, setbacks for gay indigenous people (The San Francisco Chronicle 6/25)
Two Spirit people emerging as tales are told (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 6/25)
pwlat

Relevant Links:
Native Out - http://www/nativeout.com
Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits - http://www.baaits.org
Dine Coalition for Cultural Preservation - http://www.dinecoalition.com

Related Stories:
Navajo Nation Council overrides marriage veto (06/06)
Dine Coalition opposes ban on same-sex marriages (6/3)
Democracy Now: Gay Marriage in Native America (5/31)
Navajo same-sex marriage ban up for vote again (5/25)
Same-sex marriage before top Cherokee Nation court (05/19)
Shirley cites major opposition to gay marriage ban (5/17)
Override of Navajo same-sex marriage bill sought (5/16)
Navajo president explains view on gay marriage ban (05/04)
Navajo president calls gay marriage ban intrusive (5/3)
Navajo president vetoes bill to ban gay marriage (5/2)
Navajo president weighs bill to ban gay marriage (4/26)
Navajo Nation Council votes to ban same-sex marriage (4/25)
Navajo Nation Council takes up same-sex marriage (4/22)
Tim Giago: Gay marriage debate killed Democrats (4/19)
Navajo Nation Council to take up same-sex marriage (4/18)
Blackfeet man says homosexuals unnatural (03/17)
Vote scheduled on tribal same-sex marriage ban (01/18)
Opinion: Cherokees learned bigotry from Baptists (10/01)
Navajo Nation bill would ban same-sex marriages (07/15)
Cherokee couple fights tribe's same-sex marriage ban (06/28)
Cherokee Nation couple denied right to marry (06/16)
Cherokee Nation council votes to ban gay marriage (6/15)
Few Oklahoma tribes have same-sex marriage rule (05/19)
Cherokee Nation seeking to ban same-sex marriage (5/17)
Giago: Gays were highly respected by Sioux Nation (09/22)