Realize racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia in Canadian society.

17 October 2009: Panel Discussion on Queer Struggles and Economic Crisis, as part of the Organizing For Justice conference.

– from “ We Are Part of a Tradition” by 2-Spirits of the 1st Nations We’ve always been here and we will always be here as long as there are Aboriginal people.” However, we as two-spirited people are determined to reclaim our rightful place within the circle of all Aboriginal people.Īboriginal lesbians and gay man, berdache, Winkte, 2-Spirits, Ogokwe, we are not going away. In the Aboriginal community, many of our people have adopted these negative attitudes and many two-spirited people have been ostracized from their own communities. Today, modern Euro-western society views us as dykes, fags, perverts and queers. As much as our cultures and peoples came to be viewed as less than human, and in need of salvation, so the two-spirited people, the powerful people, were used as examples of our inferiority and brutality and a directed conscious attempt was made towards the eradication of two-spirited people. The Europeans who came to Turtle Isalnd 500 years ago armed with their Bibles, had already in their history attempted to kill their speacial people on a mass level (with the rise of Christianity, pagan religions came under attack as they also had room for lesbians and gay men and were very much earth and women centred).

The Great Mystery creates all beings for a reason, and two-spirited people are no exception. Indeed, this was within the realm of the wisdom of the Creator.

Young boys who preferred the company of women, cooking instead of going on the hunt, were also born for a different reason than most. A young woman who dreamt of warriors’ or hunters’ weapon would know her course. There are individuals documented in our history, men who dressed as women and took husbands and of great women warriors who took wives and carried the bow. 2-Spirits were respected as vital parts of the societies of our ancestors. Very often, we were the visionaries, healers, the medicine people. Before first contact with the Europeans, First Nations people across Turtle Island recognized the special people given the responsibility of carrying two-spirits. “Two-spirited people have a long history with most of Turlte Island’s First Nations.

The zuni man woman by will roscoe