(Neebinnalikzhik Southall Chippewas of Rama First Nation. Found: Two-Spirit Program — Native Justice Coalition)
If you have followed my page then maybe you know I am male & 2Spirit. I see the world through these lens. I consume social media. I consume 2Spirit writers.
All I seem to come across is how sad it is to be 2Spirit. Colonization paves over all of us. So I can make the connection between 2Spirit struggle and colonialism violence.
However, we are more than a tragic coming out story. We are more than what homophobes think of us - especially within our own communities.
I wanted to write something that also coexists within this world. I jotted this down:
There is joy in being 2Spirit.
There is joy in the complete knowing of who you are and owning it. As 2Spirit, we see things as they are and not as others wish them to be.
We find community that embraces us. There is laughter upon laughter. There is acceptance as it should be in it's truest form.
Our culture reminds us of all that is within us. We are finally allowed to be that MAGIC once again. There is joy in fullfilling our ancestors dream of bringing our roles & responsibilities to life.
We also get to teach the men how to love past their old colonized ways of knowing. We get to teach them how to self-love.
Finally, As 2Spirit, we are free to love. We find love in all of it's many forms - the physical, the emotional, the self, the ancestoral, the cultural. We get to love in all of it's completeness.
We are love.
I hope that one day, the future queer Indigenous youth no longer write about their life as tragic events BECAUSE of their gayness.
I hope they write about their life as joyful BECAUSE of their gayness.
5 Two-Spirit Heroes Who Paved the Way for Today's Native LGBTQ+ Community | KQED