For many #NativeAmericans, embracing #LGBT members is a return to the past
By Katherine Davis-Young
March 29, 2019 at 1:48 p.m. EDT
PHOENIX — "The sound of drums, singing and prayers marked the opening of a powwow in Phoenix on a Saturday afternoon this month. Marchers carried the flags of the United States and some of Arizona’s tribal nations onto the grass field, but the procession also included rainbow flags, and the pink and blue #transgender flag. It was #Arizona’s first #TwoSpiritPowwow, one of a handful of powwows that have sprung up across North America to celebrate LGBT Native Americans.
"Among the marchers in the grand entry was #KayKisto, the reigning #MissIndianTransgenderArizona. 'To actually be here, to be at the first-ever [Two-Spirit Powwow] in Arizona — I’ve been having goose bumps ever since I got here,' Kisto said.
"Kisto, 35, grew up on the #GilaRiver Indian Reservation, south of Phoenix. Growing up, she feared harassment or violence if she were to reveal her transgender identity. But to be able to celebrate her identity and heritage in an event on her tribe’s traditional lands was an overwhelming feeling and a sign of change, she said."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/p1JtJ
#TwoSpirit #Decolonize #NonBinary #GBLTQI #Decolonize #Activism #Reclamation #Indigiqueer