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PLEASE NOTE:  Past Guest Commentary/Opinion articles can be viewed [[Past Guest Commentary/Opinion Articles | here]].
 
PLEASE NOTE:  Past Guest Commentary/Opinion articles can be viewed [[Past Guest Commentary/Opinion Articles | here]].
  
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==THE UNFINISHED BATTLE FOR LGBT EQUALITY==
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=='''Plains Cree Two Spirit People'''==  
  
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'''Contributor:'''  ''John Maguire, Interview with [[Peter Tatchell]]''
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By: [[Edward Lavallee]], Elder, Edmonton 2 Spirit Society
  
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The University of Liverpool continued its celebrated Flagship public lecture series in May with ‘The Unfinished Battle for LGBT Equality: The flaws of same-sex marriage law and other inequalities that remain to be overturned.’
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[[File:coreybulpittart.jpg|200px|thumb|left|'Rainbow' by Canadian First Nation artist Corey Bulpitt]]
  
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The event was hosted by The School of Law and Social Justice. The talk was given by the exemplary activist, [[Peter Tatchell]]. Tatchell last visited Liverpool in 1984. A very different social and political landscape.
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I had just returned after attending the 2002 World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education that August at the Stoney Indian Park, at Morley, Alberta when I received a call from Richard Jenkins asking if I would attend the 14th Annual International Two Spirit People Gathering as their Elder. The Alberta group were members of the Aboriginal Two Spirit Working Group of Edmonton. Chief George Poitras of the Mikisew Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory who was one of its members had been successful in bidding to host that year’s International Gathering for Canada.
  
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Peter was born in 1952 in Melbourne, Australia, and has been campaigning since 1967 on issues of human rights, democracy, civil liberties, LGBT equality and global justice.
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These International Two Spirit Gathering have been in existence since 1988 and have been hosted by various Aboriginal Two Spirit groups throughout North America and primarily those from Canada and the United States. Two Spirit Individuals and groups in the USA are also credited with getting the movement started influenced by the Gay movement in that country. Generally, the goal of the Gathering is to provide a safe, supportive and alcohol/drug free forum and environment for indigenous Two Spirit peoples from throughout North America to explore and experience their place in Indigenous cultures and communities. A sacred fire is lit at the beginning of each Gathering maintained throughout the week and extinguished at the end to assist in activities related to keeping a spiritual connection to the Creator. Other Activities during the week include pipe ceremonies, sage/sweetgrass ceremonies, sweats, plenary sessions, concurrent workshops, talking circles, support groups, recreation events, mini-pow wow/feast and a traditional give away.
  
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In an interview with 'ten minutes hate' after his lecture, Peter Tatchell discussed his years of campaigning and the influences that have shaped his outlook:
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I was at the time, telling everyone, that I was an Elder in training however that week I soon was carrying out full Elder duties and thus ever since then I have been taken as the full Elder with this same Edmonton Two Spirit group. At that time the host committee had 12 members from throughout Alberta representing First Nations, Metis and Urban Aboriginal Two Spirit men, women and youth. Its chair was Chief George Poitras of the Mikisew Cree Nation. The sponsoring organization for the Gathering was the Nechi Training, Research and Health Promotions Institute of Alberta which had been in existence as not-for- profit entity since 1974. Richard Jenkins, its Director of Marketing and Health promotions applied and received funding in the amount of 45,000 dollars from the Canadian and Provincial governments. The venue for the event was at the Nakoda Lodge at Morley, Alberta.
  
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'''PT''': Parliament has usually been the last place to get the message. It’s taken extra parliamentary action to push MPs to legislate equality and civil rights. My inspirations are people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, they pioneered non-violent direct action as a way of pushing human rights issues onto the public and political agenda. Their strategy was very effective, the strategy I sought to pursue pushing forward LGBT rights.
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The event was a huge success. Issues in their plenary sessions discussed pre-contact issues, colonization, residential school impacts and health leadership topics on individual health matters, HIV/AIDs, HIV and community involvement, healing, recovery, sobriety, culture and language retention or loss thereof, alcohol as an escape to dealing with sexuality, homosexuality and the Bible and its interpretations, not feeling safe in home communities, drugs, addictions, STD’s, teen pregnancy, incarcerations, family violence, smoking, racism, experiences at residential schools, intergenerational impacts of Indian residential schools, loss of dignity and self respect and their susceptibility to HIV/AIDS and finally, noting that the Gathering changed their lives. The event ended with a feast, a pow wow (where members from the local community took part) and a traditional give away.
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'''10mh''': Can you discuss your early campaign work with OutRage! and its impact on LGBT rights?
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'''PT''': With a protest every other week, it helped normalise LGBT issues, raising public awareness about the scale of discrimination, putting political leaders under pressure to change their policies.
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These Gatherings are attended by members of many different Nations throughout North America since their beginning including the diverse Nations of the Cree. It is believed by the Plains Cree Two Spirit (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, Trans-sexual, Transgender and Inter-sex) people, similar to many other Two Spirit people in other Indigenous Nations, were regarded as people placed among them for specific purpose by the Creator (God) and therefore were thought to be divine.
  
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'''10mh''': UKIP and other far right parties are gaining votes due to public disenchantment with mainstream political parties. What would your advice be to non-voters?
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Two Spirit is a term some Indigenous people use to identify themselves rather than GLBTTIGG. It was adopted by delegates attending the 3rd annual International Gathering at Manitoba in 1990. Indigenous people believe that both the female and male spirits resides in the body of a Two Spirit individual and the degree of dominance of each spirit ultimately impacts the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual identity of each Two Spirit person. Many Nation people have their own beliefs and have specific names for their Two Spirit people. The Navaho call theirs Nadle, the Dakota-Winkte, The Ojibwa-Agokwa, and The Cree-Esqwaycan and so on.
  
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'''PT''': Support for more conservative right-wing parties is still significant, a worrying trend if that is sustained over an extended period of time. The support UKIP is getting is a protest vote, people disaffected by the main parties.
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They were a very important part of Cree society. They had many roles in the daily lives of their people and were respected and revered for being two spirited. They were often healers, shamans, mediators in marriage and tribal disputes, keepers of their history and their lore, and taking part and often leading in their social and Spiritual ceremonies
 +
Just like many other Indigenous Nations, Plains Cree people took and lived with same sex partners and this practice was accepted as a norm. Chiefs and their leaders had wives and often had male companions as well if they could support them. This was also the practice of females in some of their nations.
  
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My response is if people are disaffected by the main parties, why not vote for a more progressive party like the Greens? It is worrying that people who are disenchanted by the political system choose to gravitate towards a party that certainly has a lot of prejudiced members, even if their policies are not avowedly negative.
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There is still today a ceremonial society called Wihtikancimoowak whose members include Two Spirit people who perform at Sundances (a four day annual Spiritual Gathering). They are known as Spirit Dancers or Contraries doing and saying things backwards as they perform in front of camp dwellings throughout the entire encampment and sometimes even are invited to dance in the main Sundance Lodge. At these times everyone must not look upon them as they are considered sacred spirits.
  
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'''10mh''': The T in LGBT is sometimes overlooked, what are your views on this?
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The belief that Cree Two Spirit people are special is epitomized in the existence of a powerful Two Spirit, Spirit, known as Qweskicanskew in their spirituality, who they believe, turns things around for the good and well-being of humanity and for all things on Earth. This important Deity is called upon in prayers for help, protection and blessings.
 +
All members of the Cree Nation who practiced Aboriginal Spirituality used to pray to this Spirit: however due to the negative influence of Christianity, this Spirit has almost been forgotten. This fact may be reversed in the future as Indigenous people are reminded about this important Deity in their Spirituality. Two Spirit songs are still known and sung today.
  
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'''PT''': Transgender rights are the new frontier, the new front line: gender identity, not just for Trans people, for everyone. ‘Behave a certain way because you are a man, because you are a woman’ impacts on the spontaneous nature that we may have.
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Today Plains Cree Two Spirit people who are often marginalized in modern day society can be found in all walks of life. They are educators, professional government civil servants, Chiefs and other politicians, writers and actors, and generally are a part of their communities on reserves and in most cases in urban centres across Canada. They are emerging from their long decades of oppression and most of all becoming decolonized working towards re-establishing their rightful roles in their communities as they go through their period of rediscovery. They are working to be recognized, respected and engaged within indigenous communities and in society in general.
  
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People should be free to express their gender and sexuality in whatever way they see appropriate, we need to break down masculine/feminine – it inhibits people from fulfilling their true potential.
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In some places, mostly in urban centres, they have created their own organizations to assist in this modern day movement towards self- development and recognition with the assistance of the technological age. They are sponsoring forums and gatherings to promote healing and to create healthy environments. As a result they are being heard in small instances at present but as their movement becomes stronger they hope they will gain and retain their lost and rightful roles.
  
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'''10mh''': Some Universities have allowed far right Islamist preachers, or hate clerics, into campuses to provide lectures on the grounds that they can talk but cannot preach hate crime. Is this acceptable?
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About our group in Edmonton, in 2003, when we were still known as the Aboriginal Two Spirit Working Group, we were affiliated and worked with the Gay and Lesbian Community Centre of Edmonton. Working again with the Nechi Institute we co-hosted the first Canadian Forum on Two Spirit Peoples and Health. That forum brought together eighty-two participants from various regions of Canada to discuss HIV-AIDS and other health issues facing Two Spirit people. Two key areas examined were those involving Corrections and Addictions. Other concerns, such as human rights, mental health, youth concerns and societal views on homosexuality were discussed. Again the Nechi Institute played a pivotal role in administering the secured dollars resulting in a successful event. A full report of the forum is available but not on line. Also a video of the event was made and produced and is available on U-tube.
 +
In 2003 the group incorporated as the Two Spirit Circle of Edmonton Society. It co-hosted, with the Nechi Institute again, a Two Spirit Gathering with Alberta Elders to learn teachings on the Protocols of the different uses of Tobacco in the various Aboriginal ceremonies as practiced by Cree people on the Plains. It had
 +
been decided that their Two Spirit members should know these teachings as part of their education on Two Spirit Practices.
  
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'''PT''': These organisations have a right to hold their own meetings in their own premises or to hire a hotel but they certainly should not be given publicly funded premises like Universities.
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Members of the Society had long realized that they must learn as much about their culture that they did not know if they were to begin and attempt to carry out their roles as Two Spirit people. Many did not know the ceremonies now practiced by their people, even those members that came from their reserve communities. Much of that part of their culture had long been lost as a result of the destructive influence of the State and Church in their lives since contact and more especially of the roles of Two Spirit people which were practically obliterated throughout the Americas.
  
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Those who host meetings and insist women are segregated from men, extremist preachers who advocate killing gay people should not be allowed to speak. The Federation for Student Islamic Societies is not doing enough to block those speakers and not practice gender segregation.
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In 2004 the Leaders of Two Spirit Circle of Edmonton Society decided they must begin teaching its members about their Culture with the help of Aboriginal Elders and with education resources known to exit about their culture. For four years they held week long Two Spirit Tipi Gatherings at the Nechi cultural grounds in St. Albert, Alberta. Both Female and Male Elders were hired to conduct known teachings on the ceremonial practices that take place during the different seasons, known Aboriginal health medicines and their uses and some ceremonial songs. They were taught how to conduct naming and transfer ceremonies. Elder Leonard Saddleback of Maskwacis was one of their main supporters since its beginning and gave them credit as a cultural emerging group on the international scene when he travelled with them to a Two Spirit Gathering to Tulsa Oklahoma, to assist in conducting spiritual ceremonies at that Gathering. He also gave the Society Three ceremonial Pipes so the Society could start conducting their own pipe ceremonies.
  
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Universities are supposed to be places of enlightenment and equality. It clearly sends the wrong signal – making LGBT people feel under threat in some universities.  Some of these extreme groups advocate punishment for women who have sex out of marriage who are not veiled, also preach that Muslims who turn away from their faith should be killed. These kinds of reactionary views need to be challenged and blocked from taking place on campus.
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Since then the Society has presented at Aboriginal Education conferences and to Schools in Alberta about Two Spirit people and their issues. They have written and helped produce a resource booklet with the Alberta Teachers Association to assist in the care and understanding of Two Spirit Youth in the schools in Alberta.
  
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Hate preachers should not be given any platform, no place at a university. Organisations like the BNP, Nick Griffin, given his past record, even if he was going to talk about his love of flower arranging.
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So the work of the Cree and other Indigenous Two Spirit people is being carried out as a testament of their desired goal of attaining their roles of the past as much as they can.
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Fascism has no place in a University. Free speech does not include inciting hatred and violence to other human beings.
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The lecture looked at the significant legal LGBT changes in the last decade. Celebrating victories that have been won only by a collective effort and illustrating the work that still needs to be done.
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'''Edward Lavallee''' ''is a traditional Plains Nehiyaw (Cree) of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Saskatchewan and has worked as co-editor of the Native People newspaper, published by the former Alberta Native Communication Society, now the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta. He has studied Aboriginal history, spirituality and philosophy with elders during a five- year stint at the Indian Cultural College, now affiliated with the First Nations University of Saskatchewan. He has worked with Aboriginal organizations across Canada and for federal and provincial governments in various management positions. Presently he volunteers as an Indigenous Advisor and Elder in Edmonton and sits on the Board of Directors of several Edmonton organizations.''
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It is assumed that the United Kingdom has always been at the forefront of positive change; however, it was alarming to note that most aspects of gay life remained criminal until recent years. Tatchell highlighted how in 1999 the UK had the most anti-gay laws in the world. The Draconian law that imprisoned Oscar Wilde in 1895 for gross indecency was only repealed in 2003. A law against buggery that was drawn up in 1533 was only repealed eleven years ago, under the term ‘unnatural offences’. Even the very language of the law was bigoted.
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Surprisingly, the 1949 Marriage Act was the UK’s main marriage law. It does not stipulate that marriage partners have to be male and female.  In the early 1970s, there was no ban on same-sex marriage: it was de facto legal. The prohibition was introduced in response to the emergence of the gay liberation movement and the fear that a lack of legal impediment would allow transgender and same-sex couples to marry. Marriage between two people of the same gender was outlawed under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.
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Realistically it would have made perfect sense for the government to just revert the seventies law, instead of creating a new one. So-called ‘Gay Marriage laws’ still have discriminative elements attached. With regards to pension schemes, the bill does not grant LGBT married couples the same entitlements as married heterosexuals. It allows companies to limit surviving same-sex spouses’ pension payouts to post-2005 accrual only, even if the deceased partner had been paying into their pension since 1970. This perpetuates pension inequalities enshrined in civil partnership law.
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The talk underlined campaigning that still needs to be undertaken.
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Schools should be a safe environment. All forms of prejudice need to be challenged. Bullying in schools needs to be tackled, specifically addressing LGBT. Children are not born bigoted, they become bigoted and this should be challenged. Lessons in equality and diversity should be required by law in primary schools onwards. Tatchell proposed that equality and diversity need to be exam subjects and put into school reports, as important as core subjects. Sex and relationship education should be a mandatory requirement.
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The speaker also highlighted the mistreatment of LGBT refugees in asylum detention centres, with just 14 days to fast track their asylum case. A process which ignores the time it takes to collate evidence. The aim seems to be to fail as many refugees as possible to appease The Daily Mail. It is a sad indictment of our society and values that questions are proposed to asylum seekers like ‘do you read GT magazine?’ or ‘Do you go to Heaven nightclub?’ Stereotypes being crassly applied.
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The assumption that you can tell a person’s sexuality on the grounds of how somebody looks is ridiculous. Comments like, ‘she doesn’t look like a lesbian!’ or ‘We don’t believe you are gay’. It is a horrifying factor that people are photographing and or filming themselves having sex to prove that they are of a certain sexual orientation. Some of the cultures are very private and nudity is inappropriate.
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The coalition government promised it would end some of the injustices but have only conducted some home office training on equality. This needs to change.
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Then there is the work to be done with football. The Football Association is not using its power and wealth in an exemplary way. Positive ways forward could include putting adverts with anti-homophobic slogans in programmes. A video needs to be made with famous footballers talking about homophobia.
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Homophobic hate crimes still exist 1 in 3 people have been subjected to insults, abuse or threats. In London in the last year there were over 100 homophobic attacks and that’s just the ones that were actually reported. So it is still a major problem. All hate crime should be unacceptable in a democratic civilised society.
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To help combat these battles, he urges people to vote for LGBT friendly candidates to wipe out the vicious behaviour of the likes of UKIP and the BNP.
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The young LGBT are growing up in a Britain worlds apart from the one of the past. A world where there was hardly any LGBT visibility and no out public gay figures. So essentially we have moved mountains but there are still a few hills. Tatchell encourages solidarity and community activism as the way forward:
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The Peter Tatchell Foundation (PTF) seeks to promote and protect the human rights of individuals, communities and nations, in the UK and internationally, in accordance with established national and international human rights law.
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Peter Tatchell is a pioneer and a distinctive voice in British politics. His portfolio of campaigning includes opposing Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988,the controversial addition of Section 2A to the Local Government Act 1986 (affecting England, Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland), enacted on 24 May 1988.
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The amendment stated that a local authority ‘shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality’ or ‘promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’. It was repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland as one of the first pieces of legislation enacted by the new Scottish Parliament, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003.
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==See Also==
  
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Tatchell has boosted tolerance and understanding, a human rights approach to personal but political beliefs.
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* [[The Two-Spirit, Aboriginal, and Native LGBTQ Community]]
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* In 2009, he co-proposed a UN Global Human Rights Index, to measure and rank the human rights record of every country – with the aim of creating a human rights league table to highlight the best and worst countries and thereby incentivise governments to clean up their record and improve their human rights ranking.
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* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MM7hM-Q_QM
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* He coordinated the Equal Love campaign from 2010, in a bid to challenge the UK’s twin legal bans on same-sex civil marriages and opposite-sex civil partnerships. The following year, he organised four gay couples and four heterosexual couples to file a case in the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that sexual orientation discrimination in civil marriage and civil partnership law is unlawful under Articles 8, 12 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
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* He has proposed an internationally binding UN Human Rights Convention enforceable through both national courts and the International Criminal Court; a permanent rapid-reaction UN peace-keeping force with the authority to intervene to stop genocide and war crimes; and a global agreement to cut military spending by 10 percent to fund the eradication of hunger, disease, illiteracy, unemployment and homelessness in the developing world.
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Past Guest Commentary/Opinion articles can be viewed [[Past Guest Commentary/Opinion Articles | here]].
 
Past Guest Commentary/Opinion articles can be viewed [[Past Guest Commentary/Opinion Articles | here]].
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Latest revision as of 12:28, 14 July 2020

PLEASE NOTE: Past Guest Commentary/Opinion articles can be viewed here.

Plains Cree Two Spirit People

By: Edward Lavallee, Elder, Edmonton 2 Spirit Society

'Rainbow' by Canadian First Nation artist Corey Bulpitt

I had just returned after attending the 2002 World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education that August at the Stoney Indian Park, at Morley, Alberta when I received a call from Richard Jenkins asking if I would attend the 14th Annual International Two Spirit People Gathering as their Elder. The Alberta group were members of the Aboriginal Two Spirit Working Group of Edmonton. Chief George Poitras of the Mikisew Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory who was one of its members had been successful in bidding to host that year’s International Gathering for Canada.

These International Two Spirit Gathering have been in existence since 1988 and have been hosted by various Aboriginal Two Spirit groups throughout North America and primarily those from Canada and the United States. Two Spirit Individuals and groups in the USA are also credited with getting the movement started influenced by the Gay movement in that country. Generally, the goal of the Gathering is to provide a safe, supportive and alcohol/drug free forum and environment for indigenous Two Spirit peoples from throughout North America to explore and experience their place in Indigenous cultures and communities. A sacred fire is lit at the beginning of each Gathering maintained throughout the week and extinguished at the end to assist in activities related to keeping a spiritual connection to the Creator. Other Activities during the week include pipe ceremonies, sage/sweetgrass ceremonies, sweats, plenary sessions, concurrent workshops, talking circles, support groups, recreation events, mini-pow wow/feast and a traditional give away.

I was at the time, telling everyone, that I was an Elder in training however that week I soon was carrying out full Elder duties and thus ever since then I have been taken as the full Elder with this same Edmonton Two Spirit group. At that time the host committee had 12 members from throughout Alberta representing First Nations, Metis and Urban Aboriginal Two Spirit men, women and youth. Its chair was Chief George Poitras of the Mikisew Cree Nation. The sponsoring organization for the Gathering was the Nechi Training, Research and Health Promotions Institute of Alberta which had been in existence as not-for- profit entity since 1974. Richard Jenkins, its Director of Marketing and Health promotions applied and received funding in the amount of 45,000 dollars from the Canadian and Provincial governments. The venue for the event was at the Nakoda Lodge at Morley, Alberta.

The event was a huge success. Issues in their plenary sessions discussed pre-contact issues, colonization, residential school impacts and health leadership topics on individual health matters, HIV/AIDs, HIV and community involvement, healing, recovery, sobriety, culture and language retention or loss thereof, alcohol as an escape to dealing with sexuality, homosexuality and the Bible and its interpretations, not feeling safe in home communities, drugs, addictions, STD’s, teen pregnancy, incarcerations, family violence, smoking, racism, experiences at residential schools, intergenerational impacts of Indian residential schools, loss of dignity and self respect and their susceptibility to HIV/AIDS and finally, noting that the Gathering changed their lives. The event ended with a feast, a pow wow (where members from the local community took part) and a traditional give away.

These Gatherings are attended by members of many different Nations throughout North America since their beginning including the diverse Nations of the Cree. It is believed by the Plains Cree Two Spirit (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, Trans-sexual, Transgender and Inter-sex) people, similar to many other Two Spirit people in other Indigenous Nations, were regarded as people placed among them for specific purpose by the Creator (God) and therefore were thought to be divine.

Two Spirit is a term some Indigenous people use to identify themselves rather than GLBTTIGG. It was adopted by delegates attending the 3rd annual International Gathering at Manitoba in 1990. Indigenous people believe that both the female and male spirits resides in the body of a Two Spirit individual and the degree of dominance of each spirit ultimately impacts the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual identity of each Two Spirit person. Many Nation people have their own beliefs and have specific names for their Two Spirit people. The Navaho call theirs Nadle, the Dakota-Winkte, The Ojibwa-Agokwa, and The Cree-Esqwaycan and so on.

They were a very important part of Cree society. They had many roles in the daily lives of their people and were respected and revered for being two spirited. They were often healers, shamans, mediators in marriage and tribal disputes, keepers of their history and their lore, and taking part and often leading in their social and Spiritual ceremonies Just like many other Indigenous Nations, Plains Cree people took and lived with same sex partners and this practice was accepted as a norm. Chiefs and their leaders had wives and often had male companions as well if they could support them. This was also the practice of females in some of their nations.

There is still today a ceremonial society called Wihtikancimoowak whose members include Two Spirit people who perform at Sundances (a four day annual Spiritual Gathering). They are known as Spirit Dancers or Contraries doing and saying things backwards as they perform in front of camp dwellings throughout the entire encampment and sometimes even are invited to dance in the main Sundance Lodge. At these times everyone must not look upon them as they are considered sacred spirits.

The belief that Cree Two Spirit people are special is epitomized in the existence of a powerful Two Spirit, Spirit, known as Qweskicanskew in their spirituality, who they believe, turns things around for the good and well-being of humanity and for all things on Earth. This important Deity is called upon in prayers for help, protection and blessings. All members of the Cree Nation who practiced Aboriginal Spirituality used to pray to this Spirit: however due to the negative influence of Christianity, this Spirit has almost been forgotten. This fact may be reversed in the future as Indigenous people are reminded about this important Deity in their Spirituality. Two Spirit songs are still known and sung today.

Today Plains Cree Two Spirit people who are often marginalized in modern day society can be found in all walks of life. They are educators, professional government civil servants, Chiefs and other politicians, writers and actors, and generally are a part of their communities on reserves and in most cases in urban centres across Canada. They are emerging from their long decades of oppression and most of all becoming decolonized working towards re-establishing their rightful roles in their communities as they go through their period of rediscovery. They are working to be recognized, respected and engaged within indigenous communities and in society in general.

In some places, mostly in urban centres, they have created their own organizations to assist in this modern day movement towards self- development and recognition with the assistance of the technological age. They are sponsoring forums and gatherings to promote healing and to create healthy environments. As a result they are being heard in small instances at present but as their movement becomes stronger they hope they will gain and retain their lost and rightful roles.

About our group in Edmonton, in 2003, when we were still known as the Aboriginal Two Spirit Working Group, we were affiliated and worked with the Gay and Lesbian Community Centre of Edmonton. Working again with the Nechi Institute we co-hosted the first Canadian Forum on Two Spirit Peoples and Health. That forum brought together eighty-two participants from various regions of Canada to discuss HIV-AIDS and other health issues facing Two Spirit people. Two key areas examined were those involving Corrections and Addictions. Other concerns, such as human rights, mental health, youth concerns and societal views on homosexuality were discussed. Again the Nechi Institute played a pivotal role in administering the secured dollars resulting in a successful event. A full report of the forum is available but not on line. Also a video of the event was made and produced and is available on U-tube. In 2003 the group incorporated as the Two Spirit Circle of Edmonton Society. It co-hosted, with the Nechi Institute again, a Two Spirit Gathering with Alberta Elders to learn teachings on the Protocols of the different uses of Tobacco in the various Aboriginal ceremonies as practiced by Cree people on the Plains. It had been decided that their Two Spirit members should know these teachings as part of their education on Two Spirit Practices.

Members of the Society had long realized that they must learn as much about their culture that they did not know if they were to begin and attempt to carry out their roles as Two Spirit people. Many did not know the ceremonies now practiced by their people, even those members that came from their reserve communities. Much of that part of their culture had long been lost as a result of the destructive influence of the State and Church in their lives since contact and more especially of the roles of Two Spirit people which were practically obliterated throughout the Americas.

In 2004 the Leaders of Two Spirit Circle of Edmonton Society decided they must begin teaching its members about their Culture with the help of Aboriginal Elders and with education resources known to exit about their culture. For four years they held week long Two Spirit Tipi Gatherings at the Nechi cultural grounds in St. Albert, Alberta. Both Female and Male Elders were hired to conduct known teachings on the ceremonial practices that take place during the different seasons, known Aboriginal health medicines and their uses and some ceremonial songs. They were taught how to conduct naming and transfer ceremonies. Elder Leonard Saddleback of Maskwacis was one of their main supporters since its beginning and gave them credit as a cultural emerging group on the international scene when he travelled with them to a Two Spirit Gathering to Tulsa Oklahoma, to assist in conducting spiritual ceremonies at that Gathering. He also gave the Society Three ceremonial Pipes so the Society could start conducting their own pipe ceremonies.

Since then the Society has presented at Aboriginal Education conferences and to Schools in Alberta about Two Spirit people and their issues. They have written and helped produce a resource booklet with the Alberta Teachers Association to assist in the care and understanding of Two Spirit Youth in the schools in Alberta.

So the work of the Cree and other Indigenous Two Spirit people is being carried out as a testament of their desired goal of attaining their roles of the past as much as they can.

Edward Lavallee is a traditional Plains Nehiyaw (Cree) of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Saskatchewan and has worked as co-editor of the Native People newspaper, published by the former Alberta Native Communication Society, now the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta. He has studied Aboriginal history, spirituality and philosophy with elders during a five- year stint at the Indian Cultural College, now affiliated with the First Nations University of Saskatchewan. He has worked with Aboriginal organizations across Canada and for federal and provincial governments in various management positions. Presently he volunteers as an Indigenous Advisor and Elder in Edmonton and sits on the Board of Directors of several Edmonton organizations.

See Also

Past Guest Commentary/Opinion articles can be viewed here.

Retrieved from "http://queerbio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Guest_Commentary&oldid=38573"