#10-23 Two-Spirit Women Speak Out  …  reviving a title of respect

The English term “two-spirit” is attributed to Cree Elder Myra Laramee, who proposed it in 1990 at the Third Annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian Conference, in Winnipeg. It’s a translation of an Anishinaabe term. At the 1994 Indigenous Women’s Network Conference at White Earth, two women spoke out about being two-spirit, and were well received.  

Speakers: Tahnahga Yako Myers, Mohawk/Anishinabe, is an indigenous counselor and healer; Bonnie Blackwolf, Blackfeet nation, was an activist for indigenous people like herself who had AIDS.  Marsha Gomez, a sculptor and a Founding Mother of the Indigenous Women’s Network, talked to WINGS about the impact of the women’s talks. She saw that respect formerly accorded to two-spirit indigenous persons was being revived. Presenters: Agnes Patak, Lisa Hayes, and Frieda Werden.

http://www.radio4all.net/files/anonymous@radio4all.net/WINGS-10-23TwoSpiritedWomen-28_57-128kbps.mp3

Attached photos: Bonnie Blackwolf, Tahnahga Yako Myers, Marsha Gomez