Written by Dan Napelee

The Two-Spirit movement is a contemporary development among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Native Americans whose primary focus is the reestablish their traditional roles within their respective tribes, as, historically, most Two-Spirit individuals, including not-men, not-women, gays and lesbians (and those who fell in between genders and sexualities), fulfilled a spiritual, if not sacred, purpose within specific tribes. At least 150 tribes across North America had at one point, and to some degree, cross-gender or gay and lesbian individuals fulfilling specific duties (Roscoe, pg. 217), including men fulfilling women’s roles, women fulfilling men’s roles, and importantly, Two-Spirit individuals contributing as spiritual leaders. According to Duane Champagne, “It is documented in the academic literature that many American Indian cultures honored and respected alternative sexual lifestyles and gender roles” (Brown, pg. xviii), which the Two-Spirit movement is attempting to recover. The term “Two-Spirit,” however, was not the first term to traditionally define the GLBT Native American community.

The “berdache” was the earliest (post-Columbus) term to corroborate the existence of homosexual activities and customs within Native American tribes. And while the term itself is a common anthropology label within Native American studies, “berdache” is a misguided categorization, or as Karina L. Walters explains, “[it is] an inappropriate French term used by many researchers because it means a young man or boy who is the passive recipient of anal intercourse” (Brown, pg. 48). Accordingly, the term “Two-Spirit” replaces the “berdache” label in order to reestablish accurate traditional (and spiritual) roles for GLBT Native Americans in modern-day tribes. On the other hand, traditional Two-Spirit customs and ceremonies have clearly been replaced with Anglo-Christian ideology and homophobia, or as Will Roscoe observes, “Unfortunately, Indian homophobia is still a problem today” (pg. 3)

While most contemporary Two-Spirit communities are endeavoring to regain and strengthen their spiritual niche, Champagne advises, “I am not suggesting a return to the religious and social life of several centuries ago. The [European] colonial regime has made that impossible […] the Great Spirit has set forth a new challenge, and that is preserving and sharing the sacred gifts of Indian cultures” (pg. xxii). The Two-Spirit movement has honorably accepted this challenge.

We go forward together in love
our humor carries us through.
And your words and guns are
on our backs in your land
that will one day be returned to us.

These are our stories
these are our dreams.

- Anne Waters, “Homelands and Family”


References

Brown, Lester B., ed. Two Spirit People: American Indian Lesbian Women and Gay Men. New York: Haworth, 1997.

Roscoe, Will. Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology. New York: St. Martin’s, 1988.