Yeah, it’s a coined term that encompasses non-Western gender ideas in Native American tribes in general, with many of the concepts under the umbrella differing significantly from each other
The roles of Two Spirit people can vary from tribe to tribe. They can be name givers, match makers, medicine people, holy people, peace-makers, mediators, warriors, adoptive parents, and much more. Here is information on some historical Two Spirit people. The point of the umbrella term is to be inclusive.
the term itself is controversial among natives.
Controversial is a weird way to phrase this. From what I've been told by friends who are indigenous and Two Spirit, most criticism of the term falls into two categories:
Those who think it either doesn't go far enough or is too broad. - Good faith, ongoing discussion to be had. These folks generally view Two Spirit as an improvement over the slur that was used by white people before.
Bigots with internalized colonial moral norms attempting to gatekeep. - Bad faith, similar ideology patterns to TERFs, widely denounced and ostracized.
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The roles of Two Spirit people can vary from tribe to tribe. They can be name givers, match makers, medicine people, holy people, peace-makers, mediators, warriors, adoptive parents, and much more. Here is information on some historical Two Spirit people. The point of the umbrella term is to be inclusive.
Controversial is a weird way to phrase this. From what I've been told by friends who are indigenous and Two Spirit, most criticism of the term falls into two categories:
Those who think it either doesn't go far enough or is too broad. - Good faith, ongoing discussion to be had. These folks generally view Two Spirit as an improvement over the slur that was used by white people before.
Bigots with internalized colonial moral norms attempting to gatekeep. - Bad faith, similar ideology patterns to TERFs, widely denounced and ostracized.
I met an elder 2 years ago who identified as a two-spirit, and they were at least two decades older than 1990.
Yeah, not sure what point they're trying to make either.
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