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I first became aware of the idea of Two Spirit, reading a story here by "Teddie" (Not the LGBT one) but the one that has been with the Native Americans for a very long time. Remembering past conversations and incidents with my family, it seemed clear that I am from a branch of the Shawnee. Yesterday, it was surprising to find that my Counsellor at OHSU Teaching University brought it up and said that Native American Two Spirit is well recognized in her circles.
Transgender has never fit that well with me but as we talked she provided a comforting explanation as to why I feel both feminine and masculine at times. It is validating.
Gwen (Haseya)
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One of the First Positive Hollywood Takes
The movie Little Big Man had a two-spirited character. It was handled compassionately. It went along with the overall theme that the Native American culture was much more "civilized" than the culture that ran them off their lands.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
The Genocide of my people
It is heartbreaking and began with the Spaniards in the 1490s. Later in the 1800s settlers gave them diseased blankets, and killed the Buffalo to starve them. Even now most remain purposely ignorant of a genocide that is still going on.
Standing Rock
In the early seventies I was finishing a long day of work and stopped for a beer at a bar in Ft. Yates. After we left the bar the guy with me told me that I had been sitting one stool away from Dennis Banks. Two years later I came back to Ft. Yates as a football official. Long evening! When Dakota Access Pipeline occurred I had friends in both sides. Good people in Bismarck were absolutely convinced that most of the activist were paid outside scabs.
Highly racist!
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Not Knowing
Once in my very early childhood, my mother told me to never speak about being an Indian. We never did even at home, and I completely forgot about it. In the last few years it was clear to me that something was up but not what. Being Native American Two Spirit explains so much.
The oil industry, and associated issues now seem so dangerous. The things that Steven Hawking said are so frightening. Even if humans started to live intelligently, would the Earth recover? We are approaching 8 billion people. Is there a way to stop the increase. All this is one of the reasons that I write almost exclusively Science Fiction to practice avoidance.
Most people are not religious, so there is no God to rescue them. I suppose we should just live our lives and let it be over when it is.
I grew up with many First
I grew up with many First Nations friends. They were considered Family.
I spoke to my "Aunt' one day about how they were treated and she spoke of being moved to an "Indian School" as a child.
They were forbidden to speak their native language, and were punished if they did.
I could feel the pain in her words. She never spoke of it again, but it gave me a great insight into her painful childhood.
I had been trying research some of the old remedies used in my area by her tribe. She could only remember one, and most of the tribal people seemed reluctant to discuss it with me, so I let the entire project drop. I did not want to upset or offend anyone.
Any knowledge lost is a loss to the world.
LynnaB
Alcohol Intolerance.
Two of my brothers and my father died as Alcoholics and that caused me to fear it. I drink it very sparingly, perhaps up to 1 beer a week. It just puts me to sleep and puts me into depression. My tribal origin is from the Algonquin family of tribes that were along the East coast of North America. I don't know much else.