IO
Street roots
June 10, 2011
Untitled
By Mishone Nettles
Rain falls green hills
Trees Speak for past
Knowledge, unheard voices tell
Stories of historic importance
Solving the deep unexplored
And complicated realities of
Life’s long journey throjugh
Space and time
good, local, food.
ALBERTA
C O O P E R A T IV E
GROCERY
1500 NE Alberta -St. |
Portland, Oß
'§03.287.-4333. .
^ w w aljoertágrocery coop
o^en to everyone ©MO daily
P H O T O C O U R TE SY OF T W O S P IR ITS/IN D E PEN D EN T LENS
CENTRAL CITY
‘Two Spirits' looks at Native American gay culture
BY STACY BROWNHILL
STAFF W RITER
C h a n g i n g L iv e s
Building Communities
Creating Opportunities
www.centralcityconcern.org
ndependent Lens offers a new and
beautiful look at growing up gay and
Native American in a conservative
state. The award-winning documentary
premieres June 14 at 11 p.m. on OPB and
profiles the life and death of Fred,
Martinez, a 16-year-old hate-crime victim
who was killed ten years ago.
Martinez was known in Navajo culture
as two-spirit, or nadleehi, because he'
embodied both genders. Historically, two-
spirited people were celebrated in many.
Native American cultures and occupied
esteemed roles as counselors, storytellers,
matchmakers and herbalists. Their ability
i
“Two Spirits” will premiere at 11 p.m.,
Tuesday, June 14, on Oregon Public
Broadcasting. (Stereo TV14)
to personify both the masculine and the
feminine was considered a treasured gift.
Gender was fluid rather than binary, and
many tribes had as many as five different
words for gender.
But Martinez came, out in the 21st
Century in homophobic Cortez, Colo., a
border town next to the Navajo Nation.
Through interviews with his family,
friends, anthropologists and activists, the
documentary portrays a young person
with big dreams and a strong sense of self.
His brutal murder in 2001 was not
charged as a hate crime in Colorado at
the time, but would be today under the
Matthew Shepard Act passed in 2009.
The May 22 attack against two men
holding hands on the Hawthorne Bridge
reminds us that Portland is no stranger to
hate crimes. In fact, according to 2010
police records, the number of bias crimes
reported in Portland due to gender
orientation was greater than those
reported due to race. “Two Spirits” is a
stunning portrait of an American culture
that embraced drag queens and same-sex
couples long before hate crimes tried to
silence them.
5 0 3 -2 9 4 -1 6 8 1
Street Books, A bicycle-powered mobile
library, coming to a street near you!
LOOKING FOR A N
AFFORDABLE PLACE TO RENT?
Your online housing search ju st g o t easier.
u
Thousands o f listings • Free service
Includes special needs housing
EQUAL HOUSING
Call 2-1-1 or 503-802-8562
OFFORTUt
iWtY
H
For ju st $5 a month, you
can help support
Portland’s only street paper
a n d homeless and low-
income vendor program.
Learn how to set up an
easy and safe recurring
donation a t www.
streetroots.com.
Library Location & Hours:
Wednesdays, 10-2 Skidmore Fountain.
Saturdays, 10-2, Park Blocks @ SW Salmon.
Street Books will use an old-school card catalogue system, checking out and
accepting returned books, twice weekly through the summer. You do not need an
address to be able to check out books. The website streetbooks.org will feature photos
of patrons who wish to be featured with their book of choice, on-line book reviews
submitted by patrons, and updates about Street Books news and library hours. At the
end of the summer, Street Books will host a reception, inviting patrons to come talk
about their favorite books, and share their experiences with the project.
To find out more about the project, or to donate paperbacks,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ contact Laura Moulton: laura@ideacog.net.
Missed A story? Check out www.streetroots.wordpress.com for past articles.