Gay Native Americans Rediscover 'Two-Spirit' Identity

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

A most interesting article. In the older Lakota tradition, the concept of Winkte or male "who would be a woman" was a then honored position within the tribe. Quite often, a native infant was given his/her name not by the parents....but by this tribal member....which the parents highly sought out...just for that purpose. The Winkte also tended to the sick, elderly, and children in times of the buffalo hunts and/or in times of war. This is but one example that I am aware of.

Another website elaborates on this more fully.---> http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~culture/medicine.htm

However, the article below is an article long overdue here on this forum. In NAI history and/or past traditions, the concept of homosexuality (or behaviors which appear homosexual from today's main stream culture) was considered normal and accepted by many tribes/nations....not all...but many. Much of this acceptance was due to the believe that the Great Spirit found a particular purpose for these members to be there within their communities. And as such, these members provided a great and honored service to the strength and survival of their tribes.

Excerpt from the article:

"The term "Two-Spirit" refers to a belief among some tribes that there are people who manifest both masculine and feminine spiritual qualities. According to Native American scholars, many tribes once revered Two-Spirits, viewing them as a third gender with a special spiritual connectedness. In these tribes, Two-Spirits filled important tribal roles as counselors, storytellers and healers.

"This belief, scholars have also observed, has been eroded in many places by the imposition of Judeo-Christian views of homosexuality as sinful."

"Homophobia was taught to us as a component of Western education and religion," Navajo anthropologist Wesley Thomas has written. "We were presented with an entirely new set of taboos, which did not correspond to our own models and which focused on sexual behavior rather than the intricate roles Two-Spirit people played. As a result of this misrepresentation, our nations no longer accepted us as they once had."

This full article may be viewed here:

http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/native/dialogue_opinion_letters/pns_gay_twospirits_0305.asp

Other sources (books and articles) on this topic may be found here:

http://www.asu.edu/clas/history/h-amindian/bibs/gay.html

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

A good followup web article on this topic may be found here:

http://www.glbtq.com/literature/native_north_am_lit.html

A brief intro section from this article reads: At the time of Columbus's arrival, a thousand or more societies flourished in every reach of the continent, speaking hundreds of distinct languages. And in most of these societies, one could find representatives of the third gender tradition of the "berdache" (an unfortunate European misnomer) or "two-spirit" (the preferred term of contemporary Indians) individuals who combined male and female activities, particularly in the areas of work roles and religion. In fact, Native North America was arguably one of the most gay-positive regions of the globe before European contact.

[fascinoma]

Your posts are interesting and informative as always, Thunderwolf.

I'm a lesbian and am interested in learning more about the two-spirit tradition in the Salish culture, but have turned up a lot of blanks. Do you know anything about it?

Maybe they didn't have one.

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

I'm a lesbian and am interested in learning more about the two-spirit tradition in the Salish culture, but have turned up a lot of blanks. Do you know anything about it?

Maybe they didn't have one.

I would imagine that they did. However, since the taint of Western civilization, it may be buried, lost, or hidden. I would encourage you to keep an open mind about this and to explore this further for yourself as you continue to learn and embrace each portion of your Sanishan culture. Sometimes, the answers come to us indirectly as we search. Let us know what you find.

Peace to you, my sister.

Wolfie