NWT story of ‘national human rights importance’ heads to YK stage

An original song about the last person to be imprisoned in Canada for homosexuality is set to debut at a choir concert in Yellowknife.

A Pine Point Story – a song about Everett Klippert – will be a feature of the Yellowknife Choral Society’s upcoming show, Change Makers.

The song was a collaboration between choir members who wrote reflections about the meaning of Klippert’s story and Edmonton-based composer Stuart Beatch.

“It was a really interesting process to get all of their raw ideas about how they feel about this story,” Beatch said, “and turn that into something that we could both use to tell the story – you know, I think a lot of people don’t necessarily know about it now, 60 years later – but also just to reflect and to think about how it impacts us in the modern day.”

The composer, who is travelling to Yellowknife for the first time to attend the world premiere of the song, said he hopes it will educate people about Klippert’s story and they will be moved by the music.

“In this song in particular, there’s a lot of resonance with today. There’s a lot of emotions tied up in the story, both the injustice of it but also the struggles that we’re still facing as a society today,” he said.

“More than anything, I just want people to enjoy it and appreciate the choir coming together and expressing the story for the community.”

Who was Everett Klippert?

Klippert was working as a mechanic’s helper in the former NWT mining community of Pine Point when he was charged and convicted of gross indecency in 1965 after he admitted to having sex with four men.

Having previously been convicted of gross indecency in Calgary, he was declared a dangerous offender and given an indefinite prison sentence.

Klippert’s case gained national attention and contributed to the decriminalization of same-sex acts between consenting adults in Canada in 1969.

He was released from prison in 1971 and died of kidney disease in 1996 at the age of 69, four years before the federal government expunged his record.

His case previously inspired the stage play Legislating Love: The Everett Klippert Story, by Calgary poet and playwright Natalie Meisner.

Lorne Gushue, a member of the Yellowknife Choral Society and a longtime LGBTQ+ advocate in the North, said Klippert’s story “has national importance in terms of human rights on the queer scene.”

“He knew exactly who he was. He was a gay man. He was confident in his identity, despite the fact that society criminalized him,” he said.

Gushue said the story resonates with people who have come to the North to “run to something or run from something.”

“Mr Klippert did that and ended up being labelled as a dangerous sex offender with no release date from jail,” he said.

Gushue said A Pine Point Story conveys Klippert’s plight as well as a message of hope that his case spurred national change.

“We can all be part of that by knowing the story, by sharing the story, by sharing similar stories that have the same kind of aspiration for justice and fairness and equality,” he said.

Beethoven, Steve Biko and more change makers

A Pine Point Story shaped the theme of the upcoming Change Makers concert. The show will include songs about other people and forces that have influenced global change.

Gushue said the theme is “universal and timely.”

“I think it’s going to be moving,” he said of the show. “I think the audience can expect to be challenged and invited to reflect on things – maybe some joy, maybe some sadness and regret tinged with hope, a bit of an emotional journey.”

Musical director Margo Nightingale said other songs in the program will reflect on the legacy of Steve Biko, a South African anti-apartheid activist who was killed by police in 1977, as well as Ludwig van Beethoven’s perseverance to continue composing music as he was losing his hearing. She said songs will also touch on artificial intelligence, urbanization, and wind and fire.

Nightingale said the show is “intended to get people thinking about what is a change maker, and how do we use these songs to reflect on these individuals and these influences that have had such a profound impact on us?”

Change Makers will feature performances by Aurora Chorealis and the Fireweed Children’s Chorus alongside the Yellowknife Youth Choir and SkyFire Taiko.

Two shows are set to take place on April 11 at 2pm and 7:30pm at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.

Tickets are available at the centre’s box office and on its website.