#indigiqueer — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #indigiqueer, aggregated by home.social.
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#Minneapolis #powwow celebrates belonging for #TwoSpirit, #queer community
#TwoSpiritPowwow invites natives to dress and dance on their own terms.
By Auds Jenkins
June 23, 2023"Em Matson leaned intently over a long table to arrange the delicate pieces of water lily appliqué.
"Amid the mechanical whir of sewing machines and the lively chatter during a community regalia making night, Matson zeroed in on the task at hand: finishing their ribbon pants in time for the Two Spirit Powwow.
"On Saturday, New Native Theater will sponsor Minneapolis' second annual 'Reclaiming Our Identities' Two Spirit Powwow, part of a burgeoning movement of powwows across the country that honor Two Spirit and #indigiqueer (Indigenous and queer) people.
"'I can't wait to see everybody turn out. I know that if you come specifically to this powwow, it means you support our community,' said Wase Mannidu Ikwe, a Two Spirit person of the Rocky Boy Chippewa Cree Tribe. 'It's nice to see our allies. As Two Spirits, we make large impacts in the native community. We are valid.'
"'Two Spirit' is an umbrella term derived from the #Anishnaabe '#NiizhManidoowag' (literally translated as "two spirits") that describes native people who exist outside the #GenderBinary and hold sacred roles in their communities.
"Popularized by activists in the 1990s, the term honors multiplicity within native conceptions of gender identity and spirituality. It also reflects a pre-colonial legacy of gender diversity that is being reclaimed today.
"'Prior to European #colonization, #GenderDiversity was the norm for many tribes. Gender was based on your roles and responsibilities, not what you looked like,' said Matson, a Two Spirit of the Sault Ste. Marie Ojibwe and one of the organizers of Minneapolis' Two Spirit Powwow.
"In the months leading up to the powwow, organizers have hosted regalia-making nights for local Two Spirit and indigiqueer folks to make ceremonial clothing that authentically represents their identities.
"'Our goal was for you to come and make whatever makes you feel comfortable,' said organizer Beth Seidl of the White Earth Band of Chippewa. 'We wanted everyone to feel safe, without any chance of someone coming by and saying, 'You're a boy. Why are you making a ribbon skirt?' if that's not how they identify."
#Minnesota #Decolonize #NonBinary
#GBLTQI #Activism
#Reclamation #Indigiqueer -
Why #Montana’s #TwoSpirit people are challenging a state law that defines sex as binary
“It’s scary, in our reservations we have a lot of suicide already because of just being who they are,” Steven Barrios.
By Nicole Chavez, CNN
December 4, 2023"As they fight to reclaim their history, some in Montana’s Two-Spirit community are challenging a state law that defines sex as binary because it 'infringes' on their spiritual and cultural beliefs.
"The law, #SenateBill458, defines 'male' and 'female' based on the presence of XY or XX chromosomes as well as reproductive systems. The legislation, which took effect in October, inserts those definitions of male and female in several parts of the state’s legal code, impacting driver’s licenses, demographic records and the state’s anti-discrimination law.
"In October, attorneys representing the Two-Spirit nonprofit #MontanaTwoSpiritSociety along with a group of #transgender, #intersex and #nonbinary #Montana residents, filed a lawsuit in Missoula County District Court challenging the law.
"They argue the state’s definitions of sex 'improperly categorizes many Montanans, excludes others from legal recognition entirely, and deprives them of the benefits and protections of myriad state laws.' The complaint also argues the law violates Montana’s individual dignity, #EqualProtection, privacy and freedom of speech laws.
"David Herrera, co-founder and executive director of the Montana Two Spirit Society, said it was important for the group to join the lawsuit because limiting gender goes against #IndigenousTraditions and cultures.
"'We don’t ascribe to just simply biologic definitions. We acknowledge that there are different genders, and our cultures have always known that there are more than two genders. In some of the Indigenous cultures, there may be as many as four to six different genders,' said Herrera, a 61-year-old who is Two-Spirit and adopted Blackfeet.
[...]
"Two-Spirit is an umbrella term that emerged in the 1990s, referring to people in many Indigenous and Native American who historically had both a masculine and feminine spirit, and who filled specialized social and spiritual roles. Some Native American people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or gender non-conforming also use the term to self-identify.
"Prior to #colonization, Two-Spirit people had roles of honor in healing and ceremonies, but as Indigenous people were forced into assimilation that part of their tradition was lost.
“For folks that were seen as being Two-Spirit, men dressing as women, or women dressing as men and warriors, that went against the teachings of the church and so they were seen as an abomination or deviance. In some of the histories, our Two-Spirit people were actually murdered and killed, while in others, they were forced to subscribe to specific gender roles,” Herrera said.
"Steven Barrios, a 71-year-old enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation and co-founder of the Montana Two Spirit Society, said the organization supports efforts to fight back against the state’s new gender definitions.
"'We’ve already been traumatized through so many things that the government has done to us and so we just figured it’s time – we have to step up and reclaim what’s rightfully ours and not let the government take that away from us,' Barrios said.
"Barrios added SB 458 and similar legislation could add more challenges for Two-Spirit youth."
Read more:
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/04/us/montana-two-spirit-lawsuit-sex-binary-reaj/#Decolonize #NonBinary
#GBLTQI #Activism
#Reclamation #Indigiqueer #MontanaLegislation #TransRightsAreHumanRights