Red River Rainbow Seniors

Preserving Life Histories of LGBTQ Individuals and Allies

In November 2017, the Red River Rainbow Seniors conducted our first interview for our oral history project, “Breaking Barriers: Harvesting LGBTQ Stories from the Northern Plains.” We are creating a permanent record about our lives as LGBTQ people who grew up or lived in North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota from the 1930s to the present. Although we were a hidden minority viewed negatively because of cultural and religious attitudes, our stories reflect a “pioneer generation” who blazed new paths, broke new ground, wrote new rules, provided new models for all people in our shared community.