Two-Spirit People: Gays Accepted by Native Americans

[Shana A]

Charles Orgbon
16-year-old sophomore at Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Georgia

Two-Spirit People: Gays Accepted by Native Americans
Posted: 07/18/2012 9:13 am

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-orgbon/twospirit-people-gays-acc_b_1677851.html

Rather than emphasizing the sexuality of gay and lesbian people, many Native Americans focused on their spiritual gifts. Even today, American Indian traditionalists tend to see a person's basic character as a reflection of their spirit. Androgynous or transgender persons are seen as doubly blessed, having both the spirit of a man and the spirit of a woman, since everything that exists is thought to come from the spirit world. Thus, they are honored for having two spirits, and are seen as more spiritually gifted than the typical masculine male or feminine female. Therefore, many Native American religions, rather than stigmatizing such persons, often looked to them as religious leaders and teachers.

Quite similar religious traditions existed among the native peoples of Siberia and many parts of Central and Southeast Asia. Since the ancestors of Native Americans migrated from Siberia over 20,000 years ago, and since reports of highly respected androgynous persons have been noted among indigenous Americans from Alaska to Chile, androgyny seems to be quite ancient among humans.

[gennee]

I have Indian blood (Choctaw). Many tribes were and are accepting of gay, androgynous, and twospirit.