#WCW: Indigenous American Two-Spirits

In today’s society, transgender women of color face stronger threats of persecution and murder than ever before. Not only from the cis, white majority, but from within their racial communities as well. Such is the case today with the Indigenous American Tribal community’s Two-Spirit group. Neither definitively male nor definitively female, this group of people check their gender box in mind, body, and soul. In pre-colonial times, these individuals would hold healing powers, leadership positions, and revered status within their tribes as members of the community who were able to transcend the typical societal roles to encompass a sense of self that was higher than the bonds of human definition. These people were revered, respected and admired. In today’s world, they are discriminated against and humiliated for an identity that they did not actively choose. Far too often do we choose to label beliefs from the past as “incorrect” or “misguided" and try to abandon them as we reshape our societal values. This case of gender may show that our indigenous friends from the past may have been correct. The idea that people should be respected no matter what and treated with equal dignity is not a radical concept, so why do we treat it as one when we discuss gender fluidity?

The award-winning documentary "Riveting." LA Weekly TWO SPIRITS interweaves the tragic story of a mother's loss of her son with a revealing look at a time when the world wasn't simply divided into male and female, and many Native American cultures held places of honor for people of integrated genders.

So as we wrap up this Pride Month in 2019, I’d like to challenge readers to reshape the conversation towards not only our indigenous gender-fluid friends but also other minority trans women who demonstrate true female grit and courage in living their normal lives. If you'd like more information on Indigenous Two-Spirits or other transgender resources, please visit the following:

This Native American Trans Beauty Queen Is Reviving an Ancient Tradition

http://twospirits.org/

https://www.ihs.gov/lgbt/health/twospirit/

Two-Spirit: Meet the Native Americans embracing their LGBT+ tribe members

www.thewellproject.org

https://www.glaad.org/transgender/resources

An overview of historical and contemporary Native American concepts of gender, sexuality and sexual orientation. This documentary explores the berdache tradition in Native American culture, in which individuals who embody feminine and masculine qualities act as a conduit between the physical and spiritual world, and because of this are placed in positions of power within the community.