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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2012)
street roots Feb. 3, 2012 ‘Two-spirit’ people work to keep native tradition, respect alive BY A M Y LAM C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T or Se-ah-dom Edmo, her Native community’s inclusion of Two-Spirit people had never been in doubt. As a child her parents taught her by example to ______________ be supportive of everyone in their M STATO community. She remembers her family taking in a UNITING young gay Native m COMMUNITIES man that had been expelled by his Am y Lam is the own family. Development & The term “Two Spirit” was created in the Communications 1980s as a term to unite and bring together Associate at the Western States Native peoples with multiple gender and Center, which aims to sexual identities. It acknowledges that build a progressive before colonization, individuals with multiple movement by gender and sexual identities in many Native supporting grassroots organizations. The communities — who today might be called Center’s Uniting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer Communities project - were not only accepted, but honored and works with respected. organizations based During colonization Europeans targeted in communities o f color to advance Two Spirit people with violence because LG BTQ equality. they did not fit into the European Christian concepts of gender and sexuality. However, as describe in a statement by the First Nations Collective in 2011, “LGBT history in this land known as America began long before Stonewall. LGBT First Nations people have celebrated multiple gendered people for millennia, and since the European Invasions, have struggled to keep F J this and other traditions alive.” “I’ve seen too many Two-Spirit people leaving our community just so they can be who they are. Our community cannot afford to lose any more people. We lose people to alcoholism, diabetes, depression, all these things that hit our community extra hard. We can’t afford to push people out just because they are Two Spirit,” she said. Se-ah-dom is the coordinator of the Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWOK) Program, a Lewis & Clark College project that works to empower tribal communities through education rooted in traditional indigenous beliefs. “In many Native traditions, being supportive of Two-Spirit individuals and families has been an ideology that many Native folks still believe in and carry forward,” Se-ah-dom said. “To reclaim traditional practices is an exercise of Native people’s sovereignty.” IWOK has been able to advance this inclusivity work with support from Western States Center’s Uniting Communities project, which aims to raise up the needs, leadership and experiences of LGBTQ people of color in Oregon and Nevada. IWOK and the Center hosted a joint training for Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest (NARA Northwest) staff, because NARA wished to ensure that as a direct service provider, it was welcoming all members of its community. IWOK also plans to develop tribal codes and policies that recognize Two-Spirit people. “We hope this resource will provide Tribes in the northwest and across the nation with ideas on how to initiate policy change,” Se-ah-dom said. “And because Northwest Tribes are big economic development centers and employ many people, they are unique allies in the fight for LGBTQ equality in general.” IWOK also works with members of Portland Two-Spirit Society, a newly formed organization of Two-Spirit people working to support one another and engage the community. “Homophobia and transphobia are harmful to our spirits. Native people think and operate very holistically. Hostile and negative attitudes towards any members of our community affect us all,” said Se-ah- dom. The collaboration between IWOK and NARA Northwest not only continues; it is blossoming. On Feb. 11, together with Portland State University and Western States Center, they will be hosting “Honoring the Two Spirit Traditions, A Place for Everyone,” a day long training for Native Americans. “We are hoping for a full representation from our community, from elders, youth and parents.” More information can be found at graduate. Iclark. edu/live/news/14687 PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL Lim iting c a m p a ig n d o n o rs to $ 5 -$ 5 0 p e r person www.Am anda 2012.com 5 0 3 -9 6 0 -3 7 2 0 LOOKING FOR AN AFFORDABLE PLACE TO RENT? Your online housing search just got easier. The new Street Roots Rose City Resource is in! X UA Thousands o f listings • Free service I nd udes special needs housing EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY Gall 2-1-1 or 503-802-8562 Seeing new faces selling Street Roots? Each week, more people sign up to become Street Roots vendors, and it's great to support new sales men and women. Please make sure you buy from badged vendors, confirming that they have attended the vendor orientation and are authorized to sell the newspapers. Your vendor will thank you!_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Call 503-228-5657 to schedule a pickup at the Street Roots office, 211 NW Davis St., Portland
