Historical and Present Context to the Term Two-Spirit
Indigenous People’s Day was last Monday, and as I saw a lot of amplifying of Indigenous voices, what I didn’t see was also bringing awareness to our Two-Spirit community members. Within the movement of racial justice and all that entails, I feel that queer liberation is quickly and easily left out of the narrative. I feel it is so incredibly important that we’re each doing the work (whether you’re 2SLGBTQIA+ yourself or an ally) of learning about and amplifying ALL the voices of our community. Every experience is unique, important, and worthy of being supported in all the ways. So, with that said, let’s learn a little more about our Two-Spirit community members, shall we?
Two-Spirit is a relatively new term to our community. It was created in 1990 at the Indigenous Lesbian and Gay International's Gathering in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in replacement of the French, offensive, and colonial term “berdache” which translates to “kept boy” (In-Queery Video). Berdache had been the term used to describe Genderqueer and Queer Indigenous folx since 1492 (ncai.org). Creating the term Two-Spirit was a way for queer Native Americans to have an umbrella term that united them across all Nations, to have a term for them and created by them, and to have their own place within the queer community as a whole. “ ‘Two-spirit’ refers to a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit, and is used by some Indigenous people to describe their sexual, gender and/or spiritual identity.” (lgbtqhealth.ca).
It is important to note that Two-Spirit is a pan-Native American term, but that each tribe or nation may have their own terms within their own languages. Some tribes and nations believe in 3rd, 4th, and even 5th genders and have words to describe them in ways that make sense to their traditions and tribal roles. While Two-Spirit is such a new term, these genders, tribal roles, sexual orientations, spiritual identities, and beyond have existed in tribes and nations forever. It is also important to note that while the term Two-Spirit is generally used to describe all queer Native Americans, in a traditional sense it particularly refers to gender identity and some Native people prefer to honor the term as such. This means that not all Two-Spirit peoples and organizations include sexual orientation within the definition of Two-Spirit. (ncia.org).
Historically and traditionally, in a lot of Nations Two-Spirit peoples were and are seen as sacred. They perform both the male and female tribal roles and some of them are revered as healers within their tribe. The roles of Two-Spirit peoples have traditionally been mediators, social workers, name giving, love potions/match makers, sun dance, holy people, told the future and brought good luck, peace-makers for the tribe, doctors/medicine people. (ncia.org).
Two-Spirit is a term reserved for Native American peoples only. To use the term otherwise would be considered cultural appropriation and incredibly harmful. The intersectionalities of queerness and being Native American make these beings more marginalized than most, and the way that impacts their lives systemically and societally is an entirely different article. I invite you to take a deeper dive into the resources provided in this article and to also support and amplify Two-Spirit voices as a continual practice. A lot of unconscious biases we hold are rooted in ignorance, in not-knowing, so it is imperative that we’re continuously learning about others’ experiences through their voices and words, not to mention that the entire 2SLGBTQIA+ community is MAGNIFICENT and what a joy it is to learn about and celebrate all the differences and experiences of different members of our family. Below are some organizations that you could also donate to and/or learn other ways to support that provide resources to Two-Spirit peoples.
*Disclaimer: I did my absolute best to find resources that are written by Two-Spirit peoples, but if any information is at all inaccurate, I apologize and am willing to revise! Please contact me for feedback.