Skip to main content
Richland Library logo
  • Events
  • Locations
  • Contact Us
Give

Social Media Menu

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Library Policies© 2023 Richland Library, Richland County, South Carolina
Richland Library logo
  • Events
  • Locations
  • Contact Us
Forgot your card number?
Forgot your PIN?
  • Reset your password

Get A Library Card

  • Print Documents
  • Reserve a Room
  • Social Work
  • Career Services
  • Community Resources
  • Library of Things
  • View All Services
  • Browse free online tools for researching and learning.
  • Most Popular
  • Articles, Journals & Newspapers
  • Books & Literature
  • Business & Careers
  • Children
  • En Español
  • Genealogy & Local History
  • View All Research Categories
  • Browse Staff Picks
  • Get a Recommendation
  • Read Our Blog
  • About Us
  • Work With Us
  • Our Team
  • Locations
  • Our Work
  • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
  • Library Policies
  • Friends and Foundation
  • Contact Us

Breadcrumb

  • Home  
  • Blog  
  • Pride Month: Recognizing the 2S in LGBTQI2SA+
BLOG

Pride Month: Recognizing the 2S in LGBTQI2SA+

  • Ashley S.
  • Friday, June 24, 2022
Share:
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn

Learn more about the 2S in LGBTQI2SA+. 

**Please note that I do not identify as Native/Indigenous and/or Two Spirit. It is not my claim nor will it ever be my claim to speak on the behalf of these communities. I'm simply sharing what I have learned through my own personal research/readings. As with learning about any unshared cultural identity, it is important to acknowledge, listen to, and respect the voices of those who have those lived experiences. At the end of this post you'll find a list of resources that were written/developed by individuals that do identify as Native/Indigenous and/or Two Spirit. 

 

Two Spirit Pride Flag

 

As we continue to celebrate Pride Month, I've been reflecting on the ways that I've been attempting to expand my knowledge of the varied cultural and historical experiences of others. Being a Black queer woman presents it's own unique sets of challenges. Sometimes I find myself getting caught in the highs and lows of my own intersecting marginalized identity that I don't always do the best job of acknowledging the intersecting marginalized identities of others. A few years ago I began to notice the shift in using LGBTQ+ to using LGBTQ2S+. Unaware of what 2S meant, I spent some time reading articles and checking out resources that provide a better cultural and historical understanding of why it is important to acknowledge the 2S in LGBTQI2SA+. 

Black and white photo of a Two Spirit person
Spider, Tsalagi

Though the term was officially coined in 1990 in Winnipeg Canada, Two Spirit culture has been present in Native and Indigenous communities for centuries and actually predates any western LGBTQ+ terminology. It is due to colonization and persecution by Western cultural practices that Two Spirit culture seemingly disappeared. As stated by Enos of Indian Country Today, the term "is not a specific definition of gender, sexual orientation, or other self-determining catch-all phrase, but rather an umbrella term. Two Spirit people have both a male and female spirit within them and are blessed by their Creator to see life through the eyes of both genders." In understanding this statement, it is clear that utilizing the term Two Spirit is a way for Native and Indigenous communities to reclaim a part of their culture. One of the most vital things that I have learned in my own personal readings of the history and culture of Two Spirit people is that it is not confined to the categories defined by Western culture. Two Spirit people may identify as LGBTQ+ or not. As noted by Out Saskatoon, "Indigenous views of gender come from a spirit based teaching: that a person's gender is based on their spirit rather than their physical body. This worldview is different from the flawed and limiting Eurocentric colonial belief in a gender binary that is defined by the physical body." Lastly, it is important to recognize that identifying as Two Spirit is reserved for Native and Indigenous communities and no one else.

Black and white photo of a Two-Spirit person
Sheldon Raymore, Cheyenne River Sioux

 

It is through this learning process that I am constantly reminded of the vital role that intersectionality plays in the LGBTQI2SA+ community. Without it, we often leave out the narratives, histories, and experiences of those who have additional marginalized identities. It is important to continue to learn about these intersecting identities so that individuals are no longer erased from the community and kept from the support they need. If you are interested in learning more about Two Spirit culture or reading books by and/or about Two Spirit people, please check out the resources and the book list below.

RESOURCES

  • Two Spirit Pamphlet by Out Saskatoon : This provides in-depth information about the history of the term Two-Spirit as well as information about their historical roles, the impacts of colonization, and the resurgence of reclaimed traditional terms. 
  • 8 Things You Should Know About Two Spirit People by Tony Enos (Indian Country Today): This resource provides a list of 8 things that people should know about Two Spirit people including history of the term, historical photographs of Two Spirit people, and understanding that the Two Spirit road is made of long held traditions, prayer, and responsibility.
  • Two Spirit & LGBTQ Health by Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB): This resource provides a wealth of different videos and articles, but this particular section provides a video of the documented journey of three indigenous members of the Two Spirit and LGBTQ community as they move towards self-acceptance, supportive healthcare, and communities that celebrate them. 
  • Embracing The Spirit of Inclusion: San Francisco's Two Spirit Pow Wow by Project 562: Project 562 was originally created by Matika Wilbur to help develop a body of imagery and cultural representations of Native peoples to counteract the relentlessly insipid, one-dimensional stereotypes circulating in mainstream media. This particular portion of the website showcases a video and article about San Francisco's Two Spirit pow wow which is the largest in the nation. There are also sections about attendees who describe what it means to be Two Spirit and how the pow wow has influenced them. 
  • LGBT - Two Spirit by WeRNative.org: This website provides information about what it means to be Two Spirit as well as additional videos. It is website developed/written by Native youth for Native youth.
  • Ma-Nee Chacaby Talks About Two Spirit Identities: Interview by OurStories eTexbook where author and Indigenous elder Ma-Nee Chacaby talks about Two Spirit identities.
  • Two Spirit People Are Reclaiming Their Land & Their Identity: Short documentary by Vice News correspondent Alyza Enriquez as they travel to Canada to understand how the Two Spirit community is reclaiming their rightful place on the frontlines of land defense despite colonization's efforts to eradicate them.
Love After the End

Love After the End

An Anthology of Two-spirit & Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction
Published in 2020
"A bold and breathtaking anthology of queer Indigenous speculative fiction, edited by the author of Jonny Appleseed. This exciting and groundbreaking fiction anthology showcases a number of new and emerging 2SQ (Two-Spirit and queer) Indigenous writers from across Turtle Island. These visionary authors show how queer Indigenous communities can bloom and thrive through utopian narratives that detail the vivacity and strength of 2SQness throughout its plight in the maw of settler colonialism's histories. Here, readers will discover bioengineered AI rats, transplanted trees in space, the rise of a 2SQ resistance camp, a primer on how to survive Indigiqueerly, virtual reality applications, mother ships at sea, and the very bending of space-time continuums queered through NDN time. Love after the End demonstrates the imaginatively queer Two-Spirit futurisms we have all been dreaming of since 1492. Contributors include Nathan Adler, Darcie Little Badger, Gabriel Castilloux Calderón, Adam Garnet Jones, Mari Kurisato, Kai Minosh Pyle, David Alexander Robertson, jaye simpson, and Nazbah Tom."-- Provided by publisher.
Find
Book
 
A History of My Brief Body

A History of My Brief Body

Belcourt, Billy-Ray.
Published in 2020
"In this stunning essay-collection-cum-prose-poem-cycle, Belcourt meditates on the difficulty and necessity of finding joy as a queer NDN in a country that denies that joy all too often. Out of the 'ruins of the museum of political depression' springs a 'tomorrow free of the rhetorical trickery of colonizers everywhere.' Happiness, this beautiful book says, is the ultimate act of resistance." ?Michelle Hart,?O, The Oprah Magazine "An urgently needed, unyielding book of theoretical and intimate strength." ?Kirkus Reviews, starred The youngest ever winner of the Griffin Prize mines his personal history in a brilliant new essay collection seeking to reconcile the world he was born into with the world that could be. For readers of Ocean Vuong and Maggie Nelson and fans of Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot, A History of My Brief Body is a brave, raw, and fiercely intelligent collection of essays and vignettes on grief, colonial violence, joy, love, and queerness. Billy-Ray Belcourt's debut memoir opens with a tender letter to his kokum and memories of his early life in the hamlet of Joussard, Alberta, and on the Driftpile First Nation. Piece by piece, Billy-Ray's writings invite us to unpack and explore the big and broken world he inhabits every day, in all its complexity and contradiction: a legacy of colonial violence and the joy that flourishes in spite of it; first loves and first loves lost; sexual exploration and intimacy; the act of writing as a survival instinct and a way to grieve. What emerges is not only a profound meditation on memory, gender, anger, shame, and ecstasy, but also the outline of a way forward. With startling honesty, and in a voice distinctly and assuredly his own, Belcourt situates his life experiences within a constellation of seminal queer texts, among which this book is sure to earn its place. Eye-opening, intensely emotional, and excessively quotable, A History of My Brief Body demonstrates over and over again the power of words to both devastate and console us.
Find
Ebook
Fire Song

Fire Song

Jones, Adam Garnet, author.
Published in 2018
"How can Shane reconcile his feelings for David with his desire for a better life? Shane is still reeling from the suicide of his kid sister, Destiny. How could he have missed the fact that she was so sad? He tries to share his grief with his girlfriend, Tara, but she's too concerned with her own needs to offer him much comfort. What he really wants is to be able to turn to the one person on the rez whom he loves--his friend, David. Things go from bad to worse as Shane's dream of going to university is shattered and his grieving mother withdraws from the world. Worst of all, he and David have to hide their relationship from everyone. Shane feels that his only chance of a better life is moving to Toronto, but David refuses to join him. When yet another tragedy strikes, the two boys have to make difficult choices about their future together. With deep insight into the life of Indigenous people on the reserve, this book masterfully portrays how a community looks to the past for guidance and comfort while fearing a future of poverty and shame. Shane's rocky road to finding himself takes many twists and turns, but ultimately ends with him on a path that doesn't always offer easy answers, but one that leaves the reader optimistic about his fate." -- Amazon.
Find
Book
 
Reclaiming Two-Spirits

Reclaiming Two-Spirits

Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal, and Sovereignty in Native America
Smithers, Gregory D., 1974- author.
Published in 2022
"A sweeping history of Indigenous traditions of gender and sexuality that decolonizes North America's past and reveals how Two-Spirit people are reclaiming their place in Native nations"-- Provided by publisher.
Hold
Book
 
Surviving the City

Surviving the City

Spillett-Sumner, Tasha, 1988- author.
Published in 2018
Indigenous teens Miikwan and Dez are best friends that navigate living in the city together, but when Dez's grandmother gets sick, Dez runs away instead of going to a group home, leaving Miikwan and the community to try and find her.
Find
Book
 
Jonny Appleseed

Jonny Appleseed

A Novel
Whitehead, Joshua (Writer), author.
Published in 2018
Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living. Jonny's world is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages - and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home for his step-father's funeral, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life. Jonny Appleseed is a unique, shattering vision of Indigenous life, full of grit, glitter, and dreams.
Find
Book
 
Author

Ashley S.

Collection Strategist - Youth

Tags
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Audience
Adults
Parents
Families
Teens (12-18 years)
 7

Related Blog Posts

Image
Tenell Felder
Blog
How can SC APEX Accelerator Help Your Small Business: Conversations With Marketing and Communications Manager, Tenell Felder
Image
Demon Slayer book cover
Blog
Digital Manga on Hoopla and Libby for Teen Readers
Image
EiR
Blog
Be Business Smart: Using the Web and Social Media for Small Business Promotion

Footer Menu

  • About
  • Work With Us
  • Blog
Library Policies© 2023 Richland Library, Richland County, South Carolina
Give

Social Media Menu

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn