A direct translation of the Ojibwe term, Niizh manidoowag, "two-spirited" or "two-spirit" is usually used to indicate a person whose body simultaneously houses a masculine spirit and a feminine spirit.
A few years ago I was asked to document a Two Spirit Festival for the Utne Reader magazine. I had no idea what to expect, first of all I am not Native American and secondly I am not gay. I didn't know how I would be received. To my surprise and relief I was greeted warmly and accepted. In the two days I spent with them I heard stories both sad and funny. The people I met are very proud of their heritage and who they are personally. Two Spirit people have faced discrimination on two levels, racial and sexual, many from within their own tribes. I made some friends over the two days and hope attend another gathering in the future.
Two-Spirit People (also Two Spirit or Twospirit), an English term that emerged in 1990 out of the third annual inter-tribal Native American/First Nations gay/lesbian American conference in Winnipeg, describes Indigenous North Americans who fulfill one of many mixed gender role found traditionally among many Native Americans and Canadian First Nations indigenous groups. The mixed gender roles encompassed by the term historically included wearing the clothing and performing the work associated with both men and women.
