Last month, I was asked by a colleague working on a Two-Spirit community resource for Indigenous communities. The resource used the acronym “LGBTQ2S,” and I asked if “2S/LGBTQQIA*” (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and sometimes an asterisk or plus sign to indicate that other sexual or gender minority identities including pansexual, demi-sexual, non-binary, gender-free can be read in) could be used instead. What prompted these request for “2S” to be listed first is to better reflect the communities’ wishes, work, history, as well as it is in line with the spirit of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP).
Background/context of Two-Spirit:
“On August 4th, 1990, Two-Spirit was adopted at the 3rd Annual Gathering of Native American Gays and Lesbians that was held near Beausejour, Manitoba,” as noted in the Two-Spirit Journal’s August 3, 2020 post.
“Two-Spirit” is an organizing strategy or tool, and not an identity. In other words, it is a way to identify those individuals or peoples who embody diverse sexualities, genders, gender-identities and/or gender expressions and who are Indigenous to Turtle Island and is Nation specific (Pruden, 2019). Additionally, Two-Spirit does not make sense unless it is contextualized within Indigenous frameworks/communities and, in a traditional (pre-contact) setting; it was tied to gendered labor roles within communities and not seen as an enduring “sexual orientation” (Cannon 1998; Pruden 2019).
Today, most people associate the term with LGBTQQIA* Indigenous peoples; however, the work of the Two-Spirit elders, leaders, community members, and organizations is often more akin with these pre-contact/‘traditional’ understandings and the relevancy and applicability of these ways within a contemporary setting (Pruden, 2019). Even though this association exists, there is a marked difference between Two-Spirit and non-Indigenous LGBTQQIA* identities and communities. As a result of this positionally and history, the Two-Spirit movement is about the reclaiming and restoring of traditional and Indigenous ways, while challenging the western (foreign) frameworks, concepts, or identities of LGBTQQIA*.
Why 2S should be listed first?:
Two-Spirit Indigenous people were the first sexual and gender minority people of Turtle Island (University of Manitoba). This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the framing and use of ‘Two-Spirit” as it predates western frameworks, concepts, or identities of LGBTQQIA*.
In September 2007, the United Nations passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It covers 46 issues important to Indigenous people, including:
- Self-determination, or the right of a people to decide their political status and government
- Culture and language
- Education and health
- Housing, land, resources and environment
- Indigenous law
One hundred and forty-three (143) nations voted for the UNDRIP. Only Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States voted against it. Later these countries changed their positions: Australia signed in 2009, Canada signed in 2016, and New Zealand and the United States both signed in 2010.
Finally, the following Articles of the UNDRIP speaks to and are align ‘2S’ being listed first in “2S/LGBTQQIA*”:
Article 2. Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity.
Article 4. Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions.
Article 8.1. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture.
Article 11.1. Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.
Article 12.1. Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practise, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites; the right to the use and control of their ceremonial objects; and the right to the repatriation of their human remains.
Article 13.1. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.
Article 15.1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information.
Article 18. Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own Indigenous decision-making institutions.
This simple truth and history along with the spirit, intent and will of UNDRIP should and must be acknowledged and honoured and a good start would be for ‘2S’ being listed first in “2S/LGBTQQIA*”.
References:
Cannon, M. (1998). “The Regulation of First Nations Sexuality.” Canadian Journal of Native Studies 18(1):280–94.
Pruden, H. (2019). Two-Spirit Conversations & Work: Subtle and at the Same Time Radically Different. In A. Devon & A. Haefele-Thomas (Eds), Transgender: A Reference Handbook (pp.134-136). ABC-CLIO.
Pruden, H. (2020). August 4, 2020 ‘TWO-SPIRIT’ Turns 30!!. Retrieved November 12, 2020, from https://twospiritjournal.com/?p=973
United Nations. (n.d.). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
Terms, RISE: Respect, Inclusion, Safety, Equity. (n.d.). The University of Winnipeg. Retrieved May 12, 2021, from https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/rise/terms.html.