Two-Spirit roles were not merely tolerated – they were frequently venerated.
By Matthew A. McIntosh
Public Historian
Brewminate
Introduction
Long before European colonization and the imposition of Western gender binaries, many Indigenous nations across North America recognized and honored a diversity of gender roles and sexual orientations. One of the most profound expressions of this diversity is found in the identity now widely referred to as Two-Spirit. Rooted in Indigenous understandings of gender, spirituality, and community, Two-Spirit people held—and continue to hold—important cultural, ceremonial, and social roles within their nations.
This essay examines the historical and contemporary dimensions of Two-Spirit identity, exploring the ways in which it functioned in pre-contact Indigenous societies, the devastating effects of colonialism on its visibility and practice, and the resurgence of Two-Spirit identity in modern times. It also considers the intersection of Two-Spirit identity with the broader LGBTQ+ movement, interrogating both the limitations and possibilities of aligning these histories.
Pre-Contact Gender Diversity and the Sacred Role of Two-Spirit People
In the more than 500 Indigenous nations in North America, there existed a wide array of gender roles beyond the binary male and female. Many tribes recognized individuals who embodied both masculine and feminine spirits, or who performed roles traditionally associated with the opposite sex. While terminology varied among tribes—nádleehi among the Diné (Navajo), winkte among the Lakota, mashkawisen among the Anishinaabe—these individuals often held special status as healers, shamans, artists, matchmakers, or mediators.¹
These roles were not merely tolerated; they were frequently venerated. Two-Spirit people were often seen as spiritually gifted, occupying liminal spaces between worlds, and were therefore entrusted with sacred responsibilities.² Their identities were often considered blessings from the Creator, allowing them to see the world with unique insight.
For example, among the Zuni people, lhamana individuals—biologically male but taking on roles and attire associated with women—were essential figures in Zuni religious life. One such individual, We’wha, a 19th-century lhamana, became a cultural ambassador to Washington, D.C. and was received with admiration by American anthropologists.³
Lhamana individuals occupy a unique and deeply significant place within the cultural and social fabric of the Zuni people, a Native American tribe primarily based in what is now New Mexico. Traditionally, lhamana refers to people who embody a blend of male and female gender roles, often assigned male at birth but who adopt roles, clothing, and behaviors typically associated with women in their community. This identity transcends Western binary understandings of gender, reflecting a rich, fluid conception of gender that intertwines social duties, spiritual practices, and community life. Lhamana individuals were often recognized as important mediators and caretakers, bridging gendered spheres and contributing uniquely to both domestic and ceremonial life. Their roles could include tasks such as weaving, pottery, and participation in rituals typically associated with women, while they might also maintain certain roles or privileges afforded to men. Importantly, lhamana identity is not merely about gender expression but about embodying a complementary social function that challenges strict divisions between male and female roles. In broader Indigenous contexts, lhamana parallels other Two-Spirit or third-gender identities, which have historically been revered and respected in many Native cultures across North America. However, colonization and the imposition of European gender binaries and Christian moral systems severely disrupted the social recognition and acceptance of lhamana people, leading to marginalization and loss of traditional practices. Today, there is a growing resurgence and reclaiming of lhamana and similar identities as part of Indigenous cultural revitalization and resistance to colonial erasure, highlighting their enduring significance as a testament to the diversity of human gender and sexuality.
The Impact of Colonization and Christian Missionization
The colonization of North America brought with it violent transformations of Indigenous life. European settlers, missionaries, and later the U.S. and Canadian governments imposed rigid Christian and binary gender ideologies. To these colonial powers, gender diversity was viewed as deviant, sinful, or even demonic.⁴
Colonial powers systematically destroyed Indigenous knowledge systems that recognized diverse gender identities. Children were removed from their families and placed in residential schools, where expressions of nonbinary gender or same-sex affection were punished harshly.⁵ The trauma of these institutions remains deep, and Two-Spirit individuals frequently bore the brunt of the erasure.
Moreover, early anthropologists, even those who took an interest in Two-Spirit individuals, often misunderstood or misrepresented them through Western frameworks of sexuality and pathology. Terms like “berdache,” a pejorative derived from Arabic through French meaning “kept boy” or “passive homosexual,” were imposed on Indigenous people, distorting Indigenous understandings and reinforcing Eurocentric views.⁶
The Modern Resurgence: Two-Spirit as an Identity and Movement
The term “Two-Spirit” (niizh manidoowag in Anishinaabemowin) was adopted in 1990 at the Third Annual Intertribal Native American/First Nations Gay and Lesbian American Conference in Winnipeg, Canada.⁷ It emerged as a pan-Indigenous response to the inadequacy of Western LGBTQ+ terms to capture the depth, spirituality, and cultural context of gender-diverse Indigenous experiences.
Two-Spirit became more than a label—it became a political and cultural movement reclaiming Indigenous understandings of gender and sexuality from colonial damage. Importantly, it emphasized that Two-Spirit is not simply a synonym for gay, lesbian, or transgender. Rather, it is a uniquely Indigenous identity encompassing gender, spirituality, culture, and often ceremonial roles.⁸
In this resurgence, Two-Spirit activists and scholars such as Dr. Wesley Thomas (Diné), Richard LaFortune (Yupik), and Harlan Pruden (Cree) have been instrumental in carving out spaces within both Native and LGBTQ+ communities for Two-Spirit voices.⁹ Organizations such as the Two-Spirit Society of Denver and the Northeast Two-Spirit Society have worked to reclaim cultural traditions, provide support networks, and educate others on Two-Spirit histories and identities.¹⁰ Dr. Thomas’s contributions extend beyond academia; he co-edited the influential book Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality, which explores the roles of Two-Spirit individuals within Native American communities. Throughout his career, LaFortune has contributed to various publications and served on advisory boards, including the Tretter GLBT Collection at the University of Minnesota. His work continues to inspire and empower Indigenous LGBTQ+ communities, advocating for recognition, respect, and the celebration of Two-Spirit identities. Pruden is a First Nations Cree scholar, community organizer, and prominent advocate for Two-Spirit peoples. He co-founded the NorthEast Two-Spirit Society (NE2SS), a group dedicated to organizing traditional cultural ceremonies for Two-Spirit Indigenous peoples.
Challenges within the LGBTQ+ Movement
Despite growing awareness, the relationship between Two-Spirit people and the broader LGBTQ+ community has not always been harmonious. The mainstream LGBTQ+ movement has often been dominated by white, urban, cisgender narratives that fail to account for Indigenous histories, epistemologies, or needs.¹¹
Two-Spirit people have sometimes found themselves marginalized within these spaces, expected to conform to Western LGBTQ+ labels or ignored entirely. Furthermore, the systemic racism faced by Indigenous peoples in broader society—including within LGBTQ+ spaces—has complicated efforts at solidarity.¹²
For many Two-Spirit people, their struggle is not only about sexual or gender identity, but also about land rights, sovereignty, environmental justice, and decolonization.¹³ Their identities are inseparable from their cultures, languages, and communities.
Two-Spirit Futures: Reclamation, Resistance, and Resilience
Today, Two-Spirit people are reclaiming their sacred roles within their nations and beyond. This reclamation is multifaceted: reviving traditional songs, dances, and languages; challenging colonial structures within tribal governance; and resisting erasure in academia, activism, and media.¹⁴
Literature, art, and film have become powerful mediums for expressing Two-Spirit realities. Writers such as Chrystos (Menominee), Qwo-Li Driskill (Cherokee), and Arielle Twist (Cree) articulate themes of survival, identity, and resurgence.¹⁵ Documentaries like Two Spirits (2011) help to educate broader audiences and preserve cultural memory.¹⁶
Efforts at cultural and linguistic revitalization have also played a key role. Since many Indigenous languages encode gender in ways different from English, reclaiming these languages helps reintegrate nonbinary and gender-fluid categories into daily life.¹⁷
Conclusion
The history of Two-Spirit identity is one of complexity, sacredness, colonization, resistance, and resurgence. It reveals a pre-colonial world in which gender and sexual diversity were understood not as threats, but as integral aspects of the community. It also underscores the enduring violence of colonialism and the ways in which Indigenous peoples have resisted and continue to resist erasure.
In understanding Two-Spirit identity, we are called not only to expand our definitions of gender and sexuality but to decolonize them—to recognize that Western paradigms do not encompass the full breadth of human experience. Two-Spirit people offer a vision of identity that is fluid, relational, and sacred, reminding us that healing and wholeness often lie not in progress alone, but in remembrance.
As Indigenous communities continue to recover and reclaim these traditions, and as the world listens more intently to their voices, Two-Spirit people stand at the forefront of a movement that is as much about reclaiming the past as it is about shaping a liberated, inclusive future.
Appendix
Endnotes
- Jacobs, Thomas, and Lang, Two-Spirit People, 5–12.
- Roscoe, Changing Ones, 45–60.
- Lang, Men as Women, Women as Men, 218–234.
- Morgensen, Spaces Between Us, 21–25.
- Smithers, Reclaiming Two-Spirits, 144–151.
- Roscoe, Changing Ones, 13–19.
- Pruden and Lebsock, “Two-Spirit People,” 3.
- Wilson, “N’tacimowin Innan Nah,” 59.
- Thomas, “Navajo Cultural Constructions,” 26.
- Two-Spirit Society of Denver, https://twospiritdenver.org.
- Morgensen, Spaces Between Us, 77–88.
- Driskill, Asegi Stories, 105–107.
- Native Youth Sexual Health Network, https://nativeyouthsexualhealth.com.
- Jacobs, Thomas, and Lang, Two-Spirit People, 198–203.
- Driskill, Asegi Stories, 57–63.
- Two Spirits, directed by Lydia Nibley (2011).
- Wilson, “N’tacimowin Innan Nah,” 64.
Bibliography
- Driskill, Qwo-Li. Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two-Spirit Memory. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2016. — A critical text weaving storytelling, theory, and decolonial memory to explore Cherokee Two-Spirit identities. Driskill, a Two-Spirit Cherokee scholar, blends personal narrative with historical reclamation.
- Jacobs, Sue-Ellen, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang, eds. Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997. — This foundational collection brings together Native and non-Native scholars to analyze historical and contemporary Two-Spirit roles across multiple tribal traditions. It remains essential in Two-Spirit studies.
- Lang, Sabine. Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998. — Anthropologist Sabine Lang surveys gender variance across Indigenous North America. The work relies on ethnographic and archival data and critiques colonial terminologies such as “berdache.”
- Morgensen, Scott Lauria. Spaces Between Us: Queer Settler Colonialism and Indigenous Decolonization. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011. — Morgensen explores how settler colonialism has shaped and often erased Indigenous genders and sexualities. The book critiques mainstream LGBTQ+ politics and centers decolonial possibilities.
- Native Youth Sexual Health Network. “Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQ Resources.” Accessed May 2025. https://nativeyouthsexualhealth.com. — A grassroots network focused on Indigenous youth sexual health and rights, with a dedicated commitment to Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ issues from a decolonial perspective.
- Northeast Two-Spirit Society. “Resources and Education.” Accessed May 2025. https://strengthinnumbersconsulting.com/northeast-two-spirit-society/ — Offers Two-Spirit cultural education, community outreach, and event organization. Especially active in urban and intertribal contexts.
- Pruden, Harlan, and Kent Lebsock. “Two-Spirit People: Sex, Gender & Sexuality in Historic and Contemporary Native America.” National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, 2005. — A concise yet impactful overview from Two-Spirit leaders advocating for better understanding and inclusion of Two-Spirit people in both Indigenous and LGBTQ+ spaces.
- Roscoe, Will. Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. — Roscoe synthesizes Indigenous gender histories through ethnography, history, and activism. Though written by a non-Native scholar, it remains one of the most cited early texts in Two-Spirit discourse.
- Smithers, Gregory D. Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal, and Sovereignty in Native America. Boston: Beacon Press, 2022. — A recent and comprehensive work highlighting the resurgence of Two-Spirit identity through the lenses of sovereignty and spiritual healing. Smithers draws on oral histories and Indigenous frameworks.
- Thomas, Wesley. “Navajo Cultural Constructions of Gender and Sexuality.” Anthropology 7, no. 2 (2001): 21–38. — Navajo scholar Wesley Thomas details traditional Diné understandings of gender, particularly the nádleehi identity, challenging Western gender binaries through Indigenous epistemologies.
- Two Spirits. Directed by Lydia Nibley. USA: Independent Lens, 2011. — This documentary tells the story of Fred Martinez, a Navajo nádleehi youth, exploring the intersection of culture, identity, and violence. It has become an essential teaching tool on Two-Spirit realities.
- Two-Spirit Society of Denver. “Mission and History.” Accessed May 2025. https://twospiritdenver.org. — A community-based organization that promotes education and cultural revitalization among Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Native people in the Denver area.
- Wilson, Alex. “N’tacimowin Innan Nah: Our Coming In Stories—Cree Identity, Body Sovereignty and Two-Spirit Lives.” Canadian Journal of Native Education 31, no. 2 (2008): 56–70. — Wilson shares Cree Two-Spirit experiences and emphasizes the importance of community storytelling and body sovereignty in the reclamation of identity.
Originally published by Brewminate, 05.19.2025, under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.