Drumming and singing brings healing and connection for Two-Spirit USask graduate

During the month of June, and throughout the year, University of Saskatchewan (USask) graduate Jennifer Lenny (BEd’24) raises awareness about decolonization and their lived experiences as a Two-Spirit person living and working on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.

Lenny, whose pronouns are they/them, identifies as a Métis Two-Spirit person of Woodland Cree and British, Scottish, and German settler ancestry and is a registered member of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan.

“Being able to live as who I am is an act of decolonization—like, just to be able to be authentically me—and I haven't always been able to do that,” they said.

June is National Indigenous History Month and June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day, which recognizes and celebrates the history and diverse cultures of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples across Canada. June is also Pride Month, which celebrates and supports the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.

Lenny said that, historically, Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island have “always recognized multiple genders and that we’re all part of the circle”—a message they also convey through their membership in the Spirit Strong Singers, a Two-Spirit and women’s drumming group. The Spirit Strong Singers aim to bring medicine to people through drumming and song. The group centres Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer 2SLGBTQQIA+ people and asks everyone who attends the drum circles to come as an ally and to be respectful of this focus.

On May 30, 2025, the Spirit Strong Singers shared two songs at USask as part of the Pride flag-raising ceremony, which is held annually on campus and signals the university’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and positive teaching, learning, and working environment. The first part of the Pride event was held in Convocation Hall, and the flag-raising portion took place outside in Nobel Plaza.

“It felt so meaningful when we were carrying the big drum into the building,” Lenny said.

Lenny was joined at the flag-raising event by six other members of the Spirit Strong Singers: Dawn Bear-Demkiw (BA’21), Andrea Ledding (MFA’13, MA’14), Madison Marwood (BA’20), Julianna Maggrah, Meagan Nolan, and Melody Wood. Together, they shared two songs with those in attendance at the event: a Flag Song/Honour Song, which Lenny said is shared to honour flags that are being brought into the circle or to honour people, and a Helping Hands/Helping Song, which the Spirit Strong Singers received permission to learn and to share with others from a British Columbia resident named Heather Policeli.

Lenny said part of the Spirit Strong Singers’ protocol is to provide information about the meaning and the history of the songs they share with the public, including how they came to learn them.

“Heather shared that the (Helping Hands/Helping Song) comes from White Winged Owl Woman and was shared out in British Columbia with the Stó꞉lō Nation with a drum group there and she learned it from them,” Lenny explained. “It is the Helping Hands or Helping Song and can be used to call in the Ancestors for help. It is also to help humble oneself to receive messages and to understand the messages for one’s own growth and healing and to then send that back out in prayer. We also like to sing it to honour people and the ways they help the community.”

Lenny said the Flag/Honour Song was also fitting for the Pride flag-raising event. It was one of the first songs that the Spirit Strong Singers learned when the group formed in 2018 through the vision of Elder Shelley Belhumeur.

“We wanted to honour all those who help with Pride, with creating safer and brave spaces in whatever way they help—and so that was the other reason we chose that song is to honour everybody that was there,” Lenny said.

“The gifts of Two-Spirit people are to be helpers in the community and that’s one of our roles and our places,” they added.

The Spirit Strong Singers are often invited to take part in community events, first holding a community drum circle for Prince Albert Pride in 2019. Over the years, the group’s membership has changed to now include the current seven members who share songs and drumming in the community. The group’s drum bundle is cared for by Lenny, who lives in Prince Albert and serves as the Keeper of the Drum Bundle.

Lenny received their first drum gift several years ago, but at the time they “didn’t feel worthy” of the gift and gave the drum away, they said. When they were given a second drum, they also gave it away, believing someone else needed it more.

“I don’t regret where they journeyed, but it also came from a place of me thinking I wasn’t worthy,” Lenny said. “And then I was told I needed to start keeping things that I was given and that I needed to start building my own bundle.”

Lenny then began keeping the drums they were gifted and also grew the drum bundle over time through buying and trading. Lenny currently cares for Belhumeur’s big drum as well as the other drums and percussion instruments that make up the drum bundle.

Over the years, singing and drumming have become a significant part of Lenny’s healing journey. They also reflect on the life-changing knowledge that they received from an Elder.

“My late Elder Rose Bird had told me to love myself, be proud of who I am, and hold my head up high,” Lenny said. “And if I if I can do those three things, it doesn’t matter what other people’s thoughts and opinions are, or their different beliefs.”

Lenny recalls first coming to USask as a student in the 1990s and entering a campus space for gay and lesbian students. At the time, Lenny did not openly identify as a Two-Spirit person and quickly left the space.

“It looked very warm and welcoming. It looked like I walked into somebody’s place, but I got scared and (said), ‘Oh, I’m lost. I came in the wrong place.’ And I walked out, and I was just too nervous,” Lenny recalled.

Remembering those experiences from the 1990s made coming back to the university in 2025 to take part in the Pride flag-raising event even more meaningful for Lenny.

“To come back as a graduate and carrying that drum into that space—it just felt like a beautiful healing circle for me,” Lenny said. “And then I was thinking of the medicine we’re bringing for others. It just felt really, really meaningful, and there’s (several) of us who have graduated from the university that were part of that. Sharing that medicine that day was meaningful for all of us in different ways.”

Lenny did not complete their USask education in the 1990s due to challenges related to addictions and mental health. They always wanted to finish their degree, however, and subsequently returned to USask years later as a mature student and a busy single parent of a daughter. In 2024, Lenny graduated from the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) in USask’s College of Education with great distinction. They are proud to have their graduation photo hanging on the wall in the Education Building on campus.

“I held both a diploma and my feathers to show that balance of my learning journey of education and culture,” they said.

Lenny now works as a part-time substitute teacher at Sturgeon Lake Central School as well as an addictions counsellor with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Previously, they served as the Indigenous Students’ Center coordinator at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and as the board chair of Prince Albert Pride. They are continuing to inspire others through their work in the community, and they want to serve as a role model for Two-Spirit and gender-diverse youth. In 2007, for example, Lenny worked alongside a group of youth to help bring the first Pride parade to Prince Albert.

“It’s amazing how it’s grown from there,” they said.

In 2022, Lenny was recognized with an award for community engagement at USask’s annual Indigenous Student Achievement Awards Ceremony, which honours students for their academic achievement, community engagement, leadership, research, and resiliency. Now, as a USask graduate, Lenny continues their healing journey through community connection and engagement, drumming and singing, and attending sweat ceremonies and Grandmother Moon (Tipiskâwi Pîsim) ceremonies.

Lenny had a very positive experience as a SUNTEP student and said it’s great to see the work that USask and other educational institutions are doing to ensure learning spaces are inclusive for all.