Challenges remain for California two-spirits

[Shana A]

Challenges remain for California two-spirits
Posted: July 14, 2008
by: Shadi Rahimi
   
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417691
   
SAN FRANCISCO - They were hidden behind a sea of kicking legs as dozens of cheerleaders paused to form towering pyramids during the annual San Francisco pride parade.

As Cheer SF parted and ran past the cheering crowd, another group emerged - quietly - led by a Jingle dancer, a man in a ribbon shirt holding a feathered staff, a Traditional dancer and a man in a Plains-style bonnet.

They were members of Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits, an often-invisible minority even within one of the most liberal cities in the nation.

[Natasha]

Challenges remain for California two-spirits

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417691
7/14/2008

According to researcher Will Roscoe, former coordinator of the Gay
American Indians History Project, there is no single belief about
two-spirits; they may be respected in one tribe and ostracized in
another, while the topic of sexuality could be ignored altogether in
another tribe.

But many tribes once revered two-spirits, viewing them as a third
gender with a special spiritual connectedness. In these tribes,
two-spirits filled important tribal roles as counselors, storytellers
and healers, Benoit said.