5 Things You Need to Know about the Healing Power of Two-Spirit Identity
By Nancy Agin Dunnahoe
GaneshSpace is a community organization dedicated to creating equity through mindfulness education. We believe that mindfulness can undo internalized bias and can guide us to take personal action towards the liberation for all. Subscribe to our newsletter now to learn how to create change from the inside out: https://www.ganeshspace.org/subscribe
Native Americans have always held a safe space for gender variation and those who “walk between two worlds.” From an indigenous perspective, the Two-Spirit people represent a third and fourth gender. For individuals showing up as their authentic Two-Spirit selves, this means they carry both masculine and feminine energies. Two-Spirit individuals paved a path of inclusion long before colonial constructs dismantled the belief system that transgendered and other gendered folks could serve in some of the most revered roles within a society. Throughout history, they were celebrated in native communities as teachers, artists, visionaries and medicine people. Today, they are leading resistance efforts to bring back balance and seek justice for their indigenous communities.
To reclaim our lost knowledge of their healing history and social significance, here’s what we all should know and celebrate about Two-Spirit identity:
- They are part of an ancient tradition and spiritual practice.
Identifying as Two-Spirit (2S) is not a new or modern construct. It predates the history of America. Before contact, Two-Spirit people held important roles in Native American society as healers, religious teachers; name givers; conveyors of oral traditions, songs and rituals; and caregivers. Will Roscoe, gay activist and author of The Zuni Man-Woman, noted that over 130 tribes in North America documented the Two-Spirit identity (Lhamana people in Zuni society). Today, these respected leaders can be seen on the front lines as balance keepers and water protectors, leading the fight to defend sacred lands against pipeline developments that continue to violate indigenous treaty rights. Keep reading about Giniw Collectiv, a group of indigenous women and Two-Spirits working to halt the Line 3 pipeline, as well as the Two-Spirit camp that protested at Standing Rock.
2. Native American societies had a diverse range of genders.
Ancient Native American societies allowed for greater freedom of expression and identity, emphasizing one’s spirit outside of the physical form. This meant they were open to the concept of varying genders, acknowledging as many as five gendered roles: female, male, Two-Spirit female, Two-Spirit male and transgendered. Although each tribe has unique names and non-translatable meanings to represent gender fluid identities, LGBTQ+ Native Americans adopted the pan-Indian term “Two Spirit” from the Ojibwe language as a universal name. Other terms include the Navajo Nádleehí (one who is transformed), the Lakota Winkté (a male who behaves as a female), the Ojibwe Niizh Manidoowag (Two Spirit), the Cheyenne Hemaneh (half man, half woman), and the Cherokee ᏄᏓᎴᎢ ᎤᏓᎾᏙᎩ or other-spirited (the Cherokee language has 10 different pronouns, all gender neutral).
3. Two-Spirit people were considered doubly gifted, doing the work of both men and women.
Ancient societies thought highly of the contributions Two-Spirit people made to benefit the tribe. They often combined and accomplished the work of both male and female roles without conforming to one set of social activities. This made them practical as well as spiritual leaders, capable of providing more for their communities, including taking care of orphans and the elderly. Two-Spirit males could become experts in traditional arts such as pottery making and basket weaving, and Two-Spirit females engaged in hunting and warfare, even becoming war chiefs. What we call same-sex marriage today was not taboo to indigenous practices. Marrying within the same gender or among other genders was common to complement and support one another’s economic survival.
4. They are powerful allies in helping society heal from intergenerational trauma.
Genocide is the reason we have lost our understanding of the Two-Spirit identity and the stories and beliefs that are indigenous to the Americas. Native peoples continue to experience an invisibility and otherness in the United States, Canada and beyond, and their treaty rights and missing persons continue to be ignored. What’s lost to time — or erased — has included a rich tapestry of ideas about what it means to be human and experience this life authentically and in connection to our multiple spirits of self.
Two-Spirit and indigenous women are also more vulnerable to violent crimes against them. According to Native Womens Wilderness, murders of indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirits are 10x higher than other ethnicities, with most of these crimes committed by non-Native people on Native-owned land. What’s more, the National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 cases of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls in 2016, as compared to only 116 cases documented by the U.S Department of Justice missing persons database. Countless lives may never be found nor recorded. The White House’s Proclamation on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day on May 4, 2021, was a milestone for acting with urgency to work with Tribal Nations to protect native women, girls and Two-Spirit lives.
Indigenous, black and Two-Spirit peoples understand what it means to fight for their freedom, for representation and, continuously, for their own lives to matter to non-native communities. Acknowledgement is the first step on the path toward healing our collective traumas. We must recognize that every day is an opportunity to advocate for one another through acts of kindness and humanity.
5. Two-Spirit/native identity is a living culture to celebrate today.
Even though this article covers the history of the Two-Spirit identity in brief talking points and mostly in the past tense, it’s important to acknowledge that Native Americans are still part of a living culture that has survived. We are still here. As part of our ancestral memory, Two-Spirit people have a powerful narrative to share about diversity, equity and inclusion. And as a modern society seeking to acknowledge and heal from generations of trauma and violence toward people of color, Two-Spirit allies in the Native community are important leaders on that journey, continuing the traditional role of healer. We must honor and protect them/us in this ongoing fight for justice. Wado (thank you in Cherokee)/Yakoke (thank you in Choctaw), and please take some time to visit the LBBTQ2S resources linked below to get started.
Two-Spirit and Native LQBTQ Resources:
- Guide for Working with Two-Spirit and Native LGBTQ Youth: https://tribalinformationexchange.org/files/products/twospiritresourceguide.pdf
- Edmonton 2 Spirit Society: Home — Edmonton 2 Spirit Society (e2s.ca)
- Human Rights Campaign — Two-Spirit and LGBTQ Identities: Today and Centuries Ago (includes resource links): https://www.hrc.org/news/two-spirit-and-lgbtq-idenitites-today-and-centuries-ago
- Indian Health Service — Federal Health Program for American Indians and Alaska Natives: Two-Spirit | Health Resources (ihs.gov)
- Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board — Two-Spirit and LGBTQ Health: https://www.npaihb.org/2slgbtq/
- PBS Independent Lens — Two Spirits Documentary: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/two-spirits/
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration — Native Connections LQBTQ2S Resources: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/nc-lgbtq2s-resources.pdf
- SAMHSA Two-Spirit Webinars: https://www.samhsa.gov/tribal-ttac/webinars/two-spirit
- Two-Spirits of the First Nations (Toronto, ON): www.2spirits.com
- Two-Spirited People of Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB): https://twospiritmanitoba.ca/
Keep wearing indigenous designers/brands who include 2S representation: Cheekbone Beauty, Eighth Generation, Jamie Okuma, ‘Kamama Beadwork
Keep listening to Crown Lands, an award-winning Canadian rock band from Ontario consisting of Cody Bowles, a Two-Spirit Mi’kmaq drummer and singer, and guitarist Kevin Comeau. Their sound is reminiscent of Rush and Led Zeppelin, but with activist lyrics focusing on First Nations and the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and Two Spirits.
About the Author
Nancy (Choctaw, Cherokee, Guatemalteca) founded Neon Artifact, a Texas-based agency for the arts, to preserve contemporary art history and living archives. Nancy manages a legacy collection of Texas underground music, arts and cultural ephemera, which includes a special collection of 1970s anarcha-feminist zines and alternative publications donated to the University of Houston Libraries’ Special Collections. She has worked as publicist for Mydolls, Houston’s longest-performing female-fronted punk band, and most recently lectured on artist archives with aerosol muralist GONZO247 at the 2019 Latino Art Now! Conference sponsored in part by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
