Alan Pelaez Lopez is an AfroIndigenous poet from the coastal Zapotec community of Oaxaca, México. Their collection, to love and mourn in the age of displacement, includes “mourning (v): how the ancestors hold”:
We sat down with Alan to discuss their poetry, in light of the mourning of this past year.
Itai
All of us are in a collective mourning process. With what ...
Continue Reading →
Mygk! Hello, my name is Michael King. I’m 32 years old and come from a small community called Navajo Mountain, about five miles from the Utah/Arizona border. It is called Kaivayaxaru, “The Mountain Place.” I’ve lived here my whole life, only leaving for school. I come from two different tribes. I am Navajo on my ...
Continue Reading →We are excited to begin the year by announcing a new name and logo for the Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ work at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.
The Paths (Re)Membered Project centers the Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ community–its strengths, resiliencies, and histories—in our movement toward health equity. Through community engagement, research, and advocacy, we work toward a liberated 2SLGBTQ+ future, which includes the memories of Two Spirit ancestors, the wisdom of our elders, and the creativity of our young ...
Continue Reading →Three visual artists share their visions of Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ liberation.
To me, Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ liberation means taking up space, resisting and speaking back to the monolith, to colonization. As many harmful ideas of gender and sexuality come directly from the effects colonization has had on us as Indigenous peoples, another important part of liberation is investigating ...
Continue Reading →In July 2020, the Supreme Court ruled for McGirt in McGirt v. Oklahoma, acknowledging that Congress has never extinguished the reservation lands set aside for the Muscogee Creek Nation in 1866. This means 47 percent of the state of Oklahoma, an area that’s home to 1.8 million people, is still Native land. We asked two Indigenous and queer Oklahomans what that decision means for them.
Lane Holcomb, 24, Cherokee, Sallislaw, Oklahoma, she/her/hers
My relation to the lands of Oklahoma is complicated. Being Cherokee ...
Continue Reading →In this month’s blog post, four public health professionals describe their journeys toward inclusive programming for Two Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQ+ people within organizations and within themselves.
When did your organization start to think about the Two Spirit voices that were there, and those that were missing, in terms of goals and programming?
Shawn Peterson (she/her) (Nuu Chah Nulth), Youth Program Manager- Na’ah Illahee Fund, Seattle, WA:
Na’ah Illahee has historically been an organization with a mission focused on Native women and girls. ...
Continue Reading →Interviewed by Itai Jeffries
I first met Jordan Remington, a Quileute artist and performer, when they performed as the incredible Hailey Tayathy at the birthday party of a mutual friend. I fondly remember the fierce and unapologetically Indigenous performance. Since then, I have seen Hailey make appearances at Native events and gatherings in the Seattle area, including shows produced by Indigenize Productions. Like many others, I have struggled with feelings of grief and loss in the time of COVID-19. As our ...
Continue Reading →A Conversation with Evan Benally Atwood
My business card says Diné, Queer, Creative. I don’t include the label of filmmaker, director of photography, or any specific thing. My scope is larger than any one thing, it’s spirit-led. The intention is there between me and the camera. It’s my tool. You can’t just give it to another person and have the same feeling. In the Indigenous way, it’s a mystery. My camera is a 1972 model from Goodwill. I have ...
Continue Reading →by Tara McCoy
The past month has brought to the forefront issues of privilege, systemic racism, and persistent discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. As a result, we’ve seen the importance of advocacy and activism in the struggle for equality. The Black Lives Matter protests have spurred movements all over the United States and abroad. Through this activism, we’ve seen public pushes to examine systemic racism and police brutality.
Thanks to the persistent work of advocates and policymakers, the ...
Continue Reading →A Conversation with Lenny Hayes
By Itai Jeffries
We are familiar with the many stories highlighting the ways that European colonialism has devastated the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. These stories must be told. As important, however, are the stories carried by Native people, families, and communities who have found healing by (re)membering stories older than America. These stories of strength and resiliency allow Native people to see ourselves as agents of our own futures. The life story of Lenny Hayes, Sisseton ...
Continue Reading →