Dear Community,
In honor of Indigenous People’s Month, we are proud to pass the mic to Amore Envy, a transgender, Indigenous (Hopi, Navajo) and Mexican woman, and a dynamic drag performer based in San Diego. Amore’s work celebrates the resilience, creativity, and history of Indigenous communities, while centering queer and trans experiences. Through her artistry and advocacy, she reminds us of the power of visibility, storytelling, and community. We are thrilled to share her voice and vision, and to honor the strength and diversity of Indigenous peoples this month and beyond.
My name is Amore Envy, growing up, life was not always easy. As a queer kid navigating a world shaped by white, heteronormative culture, I often felt caught between identities—trying to find belonging in spaces that weren’t built for me. Within both Mexican and Indigenous communities, homophobia and transphobia are deeply rooted legacies of colonialism. This imposed rigid binaries and erased the gender diversity that once thrived in our cultures.
These identities have too often been left out of the conversation and I have made it my mission to create spaces where people like me can be seen, heard, and understood.
Expressing creativity by sewing costumes, crafting beadwork, and designing performances—comes from the Native women who raised and inspired me. From family members to mentors in youth centers across San Diego, these women passed down traditions that now shape the way many express and honor heritage. Through my art, I aim to shatter colonial mindsets and serve as living proof that trans women, Indigenous people, and Latinx communities hold stories worth sharing and celebrating.
Today, Indigenous people around the world continue to face violence, displacement, and erasure. Native women are still going missing, and Two-Spirit people face discrimination every day. Being an ally means staying informed, advocating, and amplifying voices that are too often silenced.
Here in San Diego and across the country, Indigenous communities are still here living, thriving, and fighting for visibility and justice. Yet systemic neglect and lack of media attention keep many of these struggles unseen.
Indigenous and trans identities are deeply intertwined, bound by resilience and a shared fight for existence. We are still here—and we’re not going anywhere.
— Amore Envy
San Diego Pride raises funds primarily through festival ticket and beverage sales, and through sponsorships, and exhibitor fees. These funds support San Diego Pride’s community philanthropy which has distributed more than $2.5 million in advancement of its mission to foster pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.
