Why Embrace Two Spirit?

         In Native American culture, the idea of a gender binary in which people would fall into the category of male or female is a foreign thought. Like in many cultures Native American tribes all across the Americas embraced multiple gender identities some having up to six. These people who did fall into the male or female category are today known as Two Spirit peoples.
         This blog aims to educate folks about these people and the oppression they have faced since European colonization. Once Two Spirit people were the most highly respected in Native American communities. Today those who identify as Two Spirit are more likely to have diabetes, depression, alcoholism, and harm themselves. This blog will explore what it means to be a two spirit person and what their role traditionally is in Native American communities. We will also look at a case study comparing and contrasting the treatment of Two Spirit people prior to colonization and after. Finally, we will explore what it means to have multiple marginalized identities in modern America. The extra stress and oppression that is put on these folks for being people of color and queer identified.
        It is important for us to understand the truth about the history of Native American peoples and Queer folks if we want to work to fight for a more equitable society. My hope is to educate people about the harm that can be done by just forcing people to fall into a category they do not fit in our deciding someone is wrong because they are different. When the colonists came to the Americas and did this to these people they destroyed a vital piece of this culture. A piece that we could all learn a lot from when it comes to acceptance and love for one's community.

Above is a video of Chrystos a leader, poet, and activist in the Two Spirit Community speaks very strong words to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Conference about what it means to be Two Spirit and the oppressed history of Queer Native Americas.