It wasn’t until Europeans took over North America that natives adopted the
ideas of gender roles. For Native Americans, there was no set of rules that men
and women had to abide by in order to be considered a “normal” member of their
tribe.
In fact, people who had both female and male characteristics were viewed as
gifted by nature, and therefore, able to see both sides of everything.
According to Indian Country Today, all native communities acknowledged the
following gender roles: “Female, male, Two Spirit female, Two Spirit male and
Transgendered.”
“EACH TRIBE HAS THEIR OWN SPECIFIC TERM, BUT THERE WAS A NEED FOR A
UNIVERSAL TERM THAT THE GENERAL POPULATION COULD UNDERSTAND. THE NAVAJO REFER
TO TWO SPIRITS AS NÁDLEEHÍ (ONE WHO IS TRANSFORMED), AMONG THE LAKOTA IS WINKTÉ
(INDICATIVE OF A MALE WHO HAS A COMPULSION TO BEHAVE AS A FEMALE), NIIZH
MANIDOOWAG (TWO SPIRIT) IN OJIBWE, HEMANEH (HALF MAN, HALF WOMAN) IN CHEYENNE,
TO NAME A FEW. AS THE PURPOSE OF “TWO SPIRIT” IS TO BE USED AS A UNIVERSAL TERM
IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, IT IS NOT ALWAYS TRANSLATABLE WITH THE SAME MEANING IN
NATIVE LANGUAGES. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE IROQUOIS CHEROKEE LANGUAGE, THERE IS NO
WAY TO TRANSLATE THE TERM, BUT THE CHEROKEE DO HAVE GENDER VARIANCE TERMS FOR
‘WOMEN WHO FEEL LIKE MEN’ AND VICE VERSA.”
The “Two Spirit” culture of Native Americans was one of the first things
that Europeans worked to destroy and cover up. According to people like
American artist George Catlin, the Two Spirit tradition had to be eradicated
before it could go into history books. Catlin said the tradition:
“..MUST BE EXTINGUISHED BEFORE IT CAN BE MORE FULLY RECORDED.”
However, it wasn’t only white Europeans that tried to hide any trace of
native gender bending. According to Indian Country Today, “Spanish Catholic
monks destroyed most of the Aztec codices to eradicate traditional Native
beliefs and history, including those that told of the Two Spirit tradition.”
Throughout these efforts by Christians, Native Americans were forced to dress
and act according to newly designated gender roles.
One of the most celebrated Two Spirits in recorded history was a Lakota
warrior aptly named Finds Them And Kills Them. Osh-Tischwas born a male and
married a female, but adorned himself in women’s clothing and lived daily life
as a female. On June 17 1876, Finds Them And Kills Them gained his reputation
when he rescued a fellow tribesman during the Battle of Rosebud Creek. An act
of fearless bravery. Below is a picture of Osh-Tisch and his wife.
Osh-Tisch (Left) and his wife (Right)
In Native American cultures, people were valued for their contributions to
the tribe, rather than for masculinity or femininity. Parents did not assign
gender roles to children either, and even children’s clothing tended to be
gender neutral. There were no ideas or ideals about how a person should love;
it was simply a natural act that occurred without judgement or hesitation.
Without a negative stigma attached to being a Two Spirit, there were no
inner-tribal incidents of retaliation or violence toward the chosen people
simply due to the fact that individuals identified as the opposite or both
genders.
“THE TWO SPIRIT PEOPLE IN PRE-CONTACT NATIVE AMERICA WERE HIGHLY REVERED
AND FAMILIES THAT INCLUDED THEM WERE CONSIDERED LUCKY. INDIANS BELIEVED THAT A
PERSON WHO WAS ABLE TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH THE EYES OF BOTH GENDERS AT THE
SAME TIME WAS A GIFT FROM THE CREATOR.”
Religious influences soon brought serious prejudice against “gender
diversity,” and so this forced once openly alternative or androgynous people to
one of two choices. They could either live in hiding, and in fear of being
found out, or they could end their lives. Many of whom did just that.
Imagine a world where people allowed others to live freely as the people
nature intended them to be..without harm..without persecution..without shame.
Imagine a world where we are truly free.