The Two-Spirit Journal is excited to share the seventh installment in this series where Two-Spirit people across Turtle Island share their personal observations and reflections of the current Covid-19 pandemic we are all experiencing.
In this installment, we hear from Ed Lavalle, a respected elder in the Two-Spirit movement, and from Glenn Tssessaze, an upcoming leader who is the Indigenous and Two-Spirit Health Promotion Lead at the Vancouver office of Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC).
The Two-Spirit Journal welcomes any and all submissions from anyone who wants share your personal observations and reflections of how you are dealing in these uncertain times of Covid-19; if you are self-isolating, what are you doing to keep yourself busy and what do you miss the most. Send your responses (in any format) or any questions to [email protected].
Two-Spirit Journal thanks everyone who has already answered this call and has sent in their responses. Keep the responses coming in, and they will be posted!
Remember keep safe! As Gayle Pruden stated so beautifully in the second installment of this series, “Praying, singing, dancing and laughing are my medicine and washing my hands, not touching my face, practicing physical distancing and finally staying home if I’m sick or if I possibly came in contact with Covid-19!”
Edward Lavallee is a traditional Plains Nehiyaw (Cree) of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Saskatchewan and has worked as co-editor of the Native People newspaper, published by the former Alberta Native Communication Society, now the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta. He has studied Aboriginal history, spirituality and philosophy with elders during a five- year stint at the Indian Cultural College, now affiliated with the First Nations University of Saskatchewan. He has worked with Aboriginal organizations across Canada and for federal and provincial governments in various management positions. Presently he volunteers as an Indigenous Advisor and Elder in Edmonton and sits on the Board of Directors of several Edmonton organizations.
I’m well and have been self-isolating myself for almost 3 weeks now – keeping that virus away from my door. I’ve been doing that by staying home and not going out. We here in Edmonton, for now, is not a ‘hot-spot’ for this Covid-19 as it has been in other areas in the country, but that can quickly change, so we have to on our guard like staying at home, washing our hands and not toughing our faces!
One of the ways that Covid-19 has impacted me is that a very important Two-Spirit Youth Gathering which was to take place in February in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was postponed. This Gathering is historic as it’s the very first time that chiefs, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations of Saskatchewan, were sponsoring and hosting a meeting of Two-Spirit youth. I was to be one of the Two-Spirit Elders to do a presentation, along with others, at this youth conference. There has been the beginning of support of Two-Spirit youths from numerous bands in Saskatchewan. Thankfully, this gathering has only been postponed and not cancelled, I do hope that this important gathering happens as it is a great opportunity for our Two-Spirit youth to come together to help in the important work and for them to see the support for their band leadership!
This gathering may have resulted after the work that Richard Jenkins and I did in 2018 when we wrote a resolution asking all the Chiefs of Canada to Affirm and support all Two Spirit People on Turtle Island at their Annual Assembly in Vancouver in 2028. Our resolution was introduced and moved by a Two Spirit Chief and eventually it was passed unanimously. We are very happy for the support of the Assembly of First Nations. After the Federal government saw this support, they have indicated support with our proposals.
Covid-19 has also disrupted the work of Two-Spirit Society of Edmonton. It is my hope and the hope of this society that every Indigenous province and territory sponsor and support their own Two-Spirit youth and to organize and host their own Two-Spirit gatherings. This past year, we received funding from the Federal government to support a national Two-Spirit Forum towards the eventual formation of a National Two-Spirit organization. At present, an interim organization named the 2-Spirit In Motions Foundation (2SIMF) has been incorporated to act as its organization. At a recent National Forum in Toronto held in January, representatives from each province were elected as interim board members to the 2SIMF. Work now continues towards the formation of a National Two-Spirit Organization.
What excites me is to see all that is happening across Turtle Island, especially with all the jingle dress dancers who are dancing that medicine dance and posting on Facebook – this is really helping support healing that is needed more than ever at this time – I love how they are dancing their healing dance for not only us but for the rest of Canada. I’m so proud of the all the Two-Spirit work that is being done in communities like the Blood, Siksika, four bands of Maskwacis and Saddle Lake Reservations, are stepping up support their Two-Spirit relatives. While in urban centers like in Edmonton and Calgary are organizing through their Two-Spirit organizations and local Two-Spirit people are being asked to do presentations – all of this make my heart happy to all these people doing amazing work!
My advice for our people to heed advice by our health and other leaders to do all that we can do to slow the spread of this Covid-19 virus. I’ll also be saying and sending our healing prayers for the wellbeing of all our people – that is us Two-Spirit people that are learning and doing those things we have always done in the past. And, we keep in mind that our prayers are not only for our own people, we must also pray for all of humanity and for all living things on earth and for the well-being of Mother Earth. I also pray for all Two-Spirit people many of whom are learning and are becoming helpful members in their communities and have become helpers in different ceremonies and are taking part with Sacred Spiritual Ceremonies like our Sun-Dance and help in the revival of other ceremonies. They are witnessing the current revival in Indigenous cultural traditions in their own Nations which is a very good thing and makes my heart sing in this time of Covid-19.
Glenn Tssessaze, whose father is Dene and mother is Cree and Dene, was raised on the isolated reserve of Northlands First Nation and is part of Treaty 10 located in northern Manitoba. His first language is Dene and when he was growing up, it was the first language spoken in his home, with his peers and in the community. The catholic church was the only church he and his family knew growing up. His parents struggled with alcoholism throughout much of his childhood and adolescence. He was constantly ridiculed and picked on for being effeminate as a child, so one he learned to hide who he really was and act like he belonged in a community that believed in Catholicism. This led him to believe that there was something wrong with him. He tried hard to fit in and be “normal,” and to pretend to be like everybody else when in fact, inside he felt ashamed and very much alone. How he survived throughout his teens and most of his twenties was by avoiding intimacy or letting anyone get close, because then no one would find out the “truth” of who he was. Another he dealt with this situation was by being dedicated to school and his studies which led him to going to the University of Manitoba, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in Native Studies. He enjoyed Native Studies because it helped him to understand why he wound up the way he did. Today, Glenn is the Indigenous and Two-Spirit Health Promotion Lead at Vancouver office of Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) and now works for a better tomorrow for Two-Spirit people.
The journey towards accepting myself as a Two-Spirit started when I moved to Vancouver over ten years ago. It has been a long journey to make because I was conditioned to be fearful at an early age. I have been to many therapists, numerous self-empowering seminars and self-help groups. I have come to realize that there was never anything “wrong” me and it was the systems around me like heterosexism, white supremacy, homo/transphobia, settler colonialism to list a few that made me feel wrong and not made right. My current job as the Indigenous and Two-Spirit Health Promotion Lead at CBRC has been a beautiful blessing. Through this job, I had the opportunity to meet other Two-Spirit across Canada and talk about strategies for empowerment within and for our communities. I am still on that journey towards self-love and this position is both personal and political at the same time. The journey towards accepting myself has been quite a journey, although not easy at times, this struggle, while very important, is one that I am so grateful to be on!
Covid-19, like our elder Ed Lavalle, has also interrupted a trip that I was so looking forward to going on. I was going to go to San Jose to attend a seminar that was scheduled to take place on March 12 through 15, 2020. This seminar was postponed to a later date disrupting my trip that I had been planning for months. I was peeved and very disappointed by this cancellation, but I understand why they had to cancel the event. These seminars are important to me because I find the self-development strategies that are taught at the Unleash the Power Within seminars to be very useful in my personal life. I enjoy creating a life of self-love as a Two-Spirit person and to be a contributing member of and for my community. Furthermore, it is important for me to move away from living in fear to living a state of love and gratitude. It’s a long journey for me do this, so I seek ways to accelerate this process by attending seminars like the one I was going to be at.
When I heard that we had to self-isolate or stay at home, it was uncomfortable for me to accept that because I enjoy walking around in this city, going to work, and spending time with those who I care for. I started focusing on what I wanted during this time, and I saw that this was a great opportunity for me to study or to read more which I wanted to do for a while now, but my work and social schedule stopped me from doing that. I have been taking the opportunity to stay home and learn a little more about myself, so it has been a blessing in disguise. However, I look forward to the day that things return to the way there were before Covid-19 was around.