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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

Qualifications of Being is a comic-based zine (a short, self-published magazine) exploring being Trans and Two Spirit. I sat down with author Raven Two Feathers and illustrator Jonny Cechony to talk about how they put this project together.

Download the zine at qualificationsofbeing.com.

NPAIHB: Why create a zine exploring Trans and Two Spirit identity now?

Raven: The idea came from a meeting with Tracy Rector, the Indigenous filmmaker. I was really in a crux when I was talking to Tracy. I was ...