What Does Two Spirit Mean?
On the very last day of both Indigenous History and Pride Month, we’re shining a light on Two Spirit folks.
You might recognize Team Ahkameyimok (in Cree: “Don’t give up, keep going, use whatever you have to get something done.”) - Anthony Johnson (Navajo/Diné) and James Makokis (Cree) -winners of season seven of The Amazing Race Canada.
James describes Two Spirit as:
“Two-Spirit is a contemporary English term to reflect gender diversity that Indigenous nations have always had. As Indigenous people, we’ve always had gender diversity and sexual diversity in our Nations before colonization existed on Turtle Island (North America). With the imposition of colonization, Christianity, residential schools and ‘the Sixties Scoop,’ a lot of those teachings of gender diversity have been lost and a lot of people are searching for their identity as Two-Spirit people and the roles and responsibilities that come with that.”
Ma-Nee Chacaby (Anishnaabe and author of ‘A Two-Spirit Journey’) mentions the special role that Two Spirit people had in Indigenous communities:
“They Two Spirit people) were regarded very highly before. They were accepted as special people with gifts.”
Gina Metallic (Mi'gmaq) who discovered her Two Spirit identity when she connected with a traditional healer.
Where does Two Spirit Come From?
From OUT Saskatoon:
“The contemporary term Two Spirit was first coined in 1990 at the 3rd annual Native American and Canadian Aboriginal LGBT people gathering in Winnipeg. In creating the term, the founding group wanted to reflect the historical acceptance of gender-variant peoples and diverse sexual identities within Indigenous communities in pre-contact times.
Two Spirit is meant to be an umbrella term that points to the important roles that Two Spirit people held prior to colonization; however, as an umbrella term, specific teachings, roles, meanings, and language must come from the community. For example a Cree ‘Two Spirit’ person from the plains area could go by aayahkwew (roughly translates to “neither man nor woman”) while a Mohawk ‘Two Spirit’ person could go by Onón:wat (I have the pattern of two spirits inside my body). Furthermore, the teachings, roles, and responsibilities for a Two Spirit person differs from community to community.
The identity itself was introduced by the Elder Myra Laramee through a vision she had prior to the 1990 gathering in Winnipeg. Within this vision, Myra shared the vision she had of her Anishinaabemowin name of niizh manidoowag; which roughly translates to having the ability to be neutral through the lens of having both a feminine spirit and masculine spirit within one's body.
Being Two Spirit is a very fluid identity and each tribe and Indigenous person has their own understanding of what it means to live and be Two Spirit. One important element to note however is that the identity is specific to being Indigenous, in that the identity is a direct acknowledgement of the disruption of Two Spirit teachings that took place when first-contact between Indigenous peoples and settlers was made and the ongoing impact of colonization.”
Decolonizing Gender
Indigenous communities are recovering and reconnecting after ongoing impacts and violence of colonization.
From Egale’s “Two Spirits, One Voice”:
“Social roles within Indigenous societies cannot be compared to Western gender norms as social positioning develops out of the individual’s’s skill, spirit, ability, and age as gifted to them by the Creator.”
Two Spirit community members experience both queerphobia and transphobia as well as colonialist violence.
Across Turtle Island, Two Spirit Pow Wows and Gatherings are becoming more and more common:
Kitimat Village, British Columbia
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Phoenix, Arizona
Montana
San Francisco, California
For more Two Spirit amazingness, check out Lorne Olson’s 2008 short documentary ‘Deb-we-win Ge-ken-am-aan, Our Place in the Circle’ available for free on the National Film Board website.
