Bursting with pride: 5 Red River Métis 2SLGBTQIA+ Businesses to Support for Pride Month

June 23, 2025

_{Here are 5 Red River Métis 2SLGBTQ+ businesses to support this pride month and beyond.}

Our Red River Métis Nation is full of proud 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs who provide meaningful services to the community. As Red River Métis Citizens, it is important to uplift local businesses, including those that hold the dual identity of Red River Métis and 2SLGBTQIA+.

Here are 5 Red River Métis 2SLGBTQIA+ small business to support this pride month and beyond:

1. Because It Scares Me - LP Penner (they/them)

_{LP Penner has been gaining hands on experience for the past 17 years as a counsellor at Survivor's Hope Crisis Centre, a sexual violence resource centre.}

LP Penner has launched their very own private practice: Because It Scares Me. Penner is a Two-Spirit and Nonbinary Red River Métis student finishing up a seven-year Masters of Marriage and Family Therapy degree.

"I've done that work and I can share that more with the queer community and with Métis people and people who share my identity markers, ADHDers, that [are] underserved often in Winnipeg and Manitoba," said Penner.

While working at the (Survivors Hope) resource centre, Penner had the opportunity to coordinate land-based healing - which helps them to connect with Red River Métis clients.

"Having someone who understands your community and understands your needs and what you're up against (is important) ... Métis identity plays into therapy." said Penner.

The choice to open their own practice was led by and increase in demand for someone like Penner, who understands the unique perspectives.

"I was getting referrals. I was getting people wanting to come and get that support with someone who seems like them, who has energy like them, and so it just felt like this is time," they said.

For contact information you can find Penner on the LRCC Directory website. To book LP Penner's therapy services, visit their website becauseitscares.me, where you can also find their talented writing, ADHD tips, interviews, and a queer business directory.

2. Hanitoba Pottery - Murry Pruder (he/they)

_{Murry Pruder's love for clay was born long before their business. They took their first clay class when they were 12 and fell in love with the artform - they later graduated with a Fine Arts in 3D Art degree.}

Hanitoba Pottery is not just a ceramics studio; it's a place to learn with curiosity and find community. Red River Métis Citizen Murry Pruder began the studio during COVID-19 when Pruder moved back to Thompson, Manitoba looking for his next step. Now, Pruder focuses on teaching ceramics, while keeping unique identities and communities in mind.

"As a Métis person, a trans non-binary person, and a person living in a fat body, my goal is to run my business in a way that allows me to live fully in those identities and to thrive in them. I want my business to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible so people like me can enjoy being a part of community and feel seen," he said.

The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) has been working with Pruder throughout their journey as a business owner, receiving a small business loan from the LRCC.

"With that loan I was able to purchase my kiln, my wheel, my first batch of clay and glazes, all my materials," they said. "I was able to use the first-time home buyers' program to purchase my home in 2022 with my garage that I have now turned into my studio... those programs were instrumental in getting my business started and being able to keep moving forward."

To join in on one of Pruder's welcoming and creatively inspired classes you can find more information on our LRCC Directory, or their Facebook. You can also purchase their beautiful pottery at the Red River Métis Marketplace.

3. Bead n Butter - Jessie Pruden (she/her)

_{Jessie Pruden comes from the large Red River Métis Pruden family. She has fond memories of visiting Patricia Beach, jigging, and being immersed in Red River Métis culture.}

You may have seen Jessie Pruden's beadwork in Paris Fashion week or worn on the red carpet, but this MMF Citizen stays true to her roots as Red River Métis, queer, disabled business owner and artisan.

"Representation matters and people need to know you can be a successful person in whatever field you are; if you are disabled, if you are queer, if you are Indigenous... to me it's important to always use those identifiers," said Pruden.

Pruden wants to bring awareness to the increasing challenges 2SLGBTQIA+ folks are experiencing in this political climate, and why supporting the community monetarily is even more important.

"You're giving (us a chance) to live our lives, to be able to live authentically... We need people to remember that we are just humans," she said. "We should still celebrate our community and how strong we are even through this adversity. That's something I want people to remember."

In 2024 Pruden was nominated and made it into the top three business up for the Red River Métis Business Excellence Award.

"It was also just cool to be in a room with a bunch of Métis small businesses and be able to celebrate ourselves," said Pruden. "I know that the there's a lot of support for small businesses through the MMF and that's really cool."

You can find Jessie Pruden's beautiful beadwork at the Red River Métis Marketplace. And you can check out their website to browse their current collections or follow them on Instagram to keep up with their work and market pop-ups.

4. Braiding Colours Consulting - Dene Guillas (he/they)

_{Dene Guillas is starting Braiding Colours Consulting with their wife, Shay Guillas, both are 2SLGBTQIA+ and Indigenous educators.}

Braiding Colours Consulting is a new business, providing a variety of educational services rooted in 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion. Red River Métis Citizen Dene Guillas has been working in the training and educating field for over 20 years, both in the non-profit sector and at Rainbow Resource Centre.

"I am very proud to be building something very much rooted (in) who I am and where I come from. I'm very proud to be Two Spirit and Métis and Trans and a whole bunch of other colours on the rainbow," said Guillas.

Guillas doesn't see Braiding Colours as simply a business, he sees it as a way to provide for community and for those who have given him so much, honouring the seven generations before him, and the seven generations after.

"Consulting to me was the best word I could use to encompass everything. I will show up and we will do professional development workshops, we'll do a circle talk, we'll talk about your policies ... if you want me to come to your physical space (see) if there's anything in the environment (that) can be changed. If you need advocacy... I will show up and support you in whatever way I can," he said.

While Guillas' experience and focus are primarily in working with northern communities and youth, they are hoping to reach all sorts of clientele.

"I don't think there's a limitation to who could come and reach out to Braiding Colours Consulting for support," said Guillas.

To get in touch with Dene and Shay Guillas for all their consulting services, you can check out their Instagram or email them at dene.guillas@gmail.com.

5. Prairie Rose Holistic Nurse Services - Kelly Flanagan (she/her)

_{Kelly Flanagan chose the name Prairie Rose Holistic Nursing, in part, to honour her Red River Métis Grandmother, Rose.}

Kelly Flanagan is a Red River Métis, queer holistic nursing coach, running Prairie Rose Holistic Nurse Services. Flanagan has been a Manitoba nurse for 15 years, usually working in the emergency room and acute care before beginning to feel some effects of burnout and began looking for a new path.

"As thankful as I was to have (that) career I was getting extremely fatigued... I came across holistic nurse coaching and that piqued my interest," she said. "I wanted to do something I actually believed in and that was actually helping people."

Holistic nursing is a practice in treating the whole person, as an individual. Flanagan practices "integrative medicine," integrating both allopathic and western medicine together with alternative medicine/therapies.

"A holistic nurse's job (is) to dig a little deeper into what this person is about and what their experiences are, and that'll explain a lot about what's going on," she said.

Flanagan notes that 2SLGBTQIA+ and Red River Métis communities are linked by their strong culture of pride.

"I can take pride in being part of the Métis, and I can also be proud of being part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community," she said. "We are people working in the community very hard and we believe in human rights... it's important to support (businesses) and redirect money back into the community (to) support those communities from within... we all come up a little bit stronger."

Follow Kelly Flanagan's business page on Instagram or check out her Facebook page to reach Flanagan and her holistic nursing services.

 

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