Two Spirit and LGBT Native Americans | Page 7

7

Long before the colonization and before the appearance of the terms gay, straight, or transgender, Native Americans recognized Two Spirit people. The constructs gay, straight, and transgender would imply that there are only two sexualities (gay or straight), two sexes (male or female), and two genders (man or woman). However, Native American cultures did not limit themselves to these binaries. Two Spirit people were Native Americans who fulfilled mixed gender roles in their tribal communities. In North America, out of the 400 distinct Indigenous Nations more than 150 have documented multiple gender traditions in their tribes (Two Spirit History).