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Critically Centering Narratives of Urban Two-Spirit Youth

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Critically Centering Narratives of Urban Two-Spirit Youth REIMAGINING TWO-SPIRIT COMMUNITY: CRITICALLY CENTERING NARRATIVES OF URBAN TWO-SPIRIT YOUTH by Dana L. Wesley A thesis submitted to the Department of Gender Studies In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (April, 2015) Copyright ©Dana L. Wesley, 2015 Abstract Since its inception in the early 1990s, Two-Spirit has become an identity category that many Indigenous LGBTQ people have taken up as a way to signal both their Indigeneity and their queerness. In the emerging field of Queer Indigenous Studies, Two-Spirit people have become increasingly visible, however, the engagement with youth has been limited and largely confined to the social service sector. Stepping outside of these narrow confines, my research has sought to document how Two-Spirit youth envision their day-to-day lives in relation to their communities. Using an Indigenous methodology to guide the research, I conducted sharing circles in conjunction with the Native Youth Sexual Health Network in order to engage Two-Spirit youth living in Toronto. The sharing circles revealed the limits of Two-Spirit youth’s connections to the idea of Two-Spirit community. Two-Spirit youth called for an end to homophobia and transphobia within their Indigenous communities and expressed their desire to directly participate in nation-building activities as guided by their communities’ elders. The thesis analyzes the ways that Two-Spirit identity gets used in both oppressive and decolonial ways in the context of non-profit and Two-Spirit organizations to show how cultures are built around Two-Spirit identity. However, Two-Spirit youth resist narratives of victimhood created through racist ideas about Indigenous people in their stories as they search for spaces that open up dialogue about the radical ways in which Two-Spirit people can manifest their own futures rooted in Indigenous principles. ii Acknowledgements I thank the Creator for my life and my connection to all of creation. I thank my ancestors for reminding me to be guided by my spirit. This work is, of course, the result of an entire community by which I am so incredibly honored to be surrounded. I want to thank the Anishnabe and the Haudenosaunee people who are caretakers of the territory on which Kingston, Ontario stands where I have been a visitor for 12 years. I will be eternally grateful to my family for never asking me when my thesis would be done, but especially for their endless love and support. My heart was nurtured and inspired by my dear friends in the struggle that have always cared for me in more ways than I can express. Thank you to the staff and students at Four Directions Aboriginal Student Centre for helping me to return to my spirit through kinship and ceremony. My profound respect and thanks go out to all of the staff at the Native Youth Sexual Health Network for their fierce community driven work and for their guidance and support in this project. Thank you to the participants of the sharing circles for expressing their innermost thoughts and wisdom, without which I would not have been able to critically think through Two-Spirit and community in this way. Thank you to Jill Scott for her work as an ally and for being an external examiner on my defense committee. I am so very appreciative of Katherine McKittrick and her teaching that sustained my early thirst for anti-racist and decolonial critiques in my undergrad and for her continued support into my graduate work. I could not have imagined that, particularly at a university such as this, I would have been gifted with such a knowledgeable, patient, and kind supervisor such as Scott Morgensen, who took on a little Cree graduate student who had no idea what she was getting in to. My sincerest thanks to you for always listening to my rants and never giving up on me, even when I wanted to give up on myself. Finally, I want to acknowledge the bravery and strength of all the Indigenous LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people that have come before me and those that continue fighting to make this world a safer place to love. iii Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1 Introduction: Finding Two-Spirit Youth ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 LGBTQ Indigenous People and Two-Spirit Identity ........................................................................ 12 1.3 Theories of LGBTQ Indigenous Experiences of Community and Tradition .................................... 25 1.4 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 2 A Gray “Way of Life”: Urban Two-Spirit Youth Theorize their Life Experiences ................... 44 2.1 What does Two-Spirit mean to you? ................................................................................................. 48 2.2 Do you feel that the term Two-Spirit reflects you and your experience; and if so, how? ................ 53 2.3 In what kinds of communities do you feel you are a part? ............................................................... 56 2.4 How do you want to see your communities further supported? ....................................................... 61 2.5 How would you like to see Two-Spirit communities supported? ..................................................... 66 2.6 Other comments, questions or ideas? ................................................................................................ 70 Chapter 3 Two-Spirit Futures: Critiquing the Non-Profitization of Two-Spirit to Make Space for Decolonial Futures ...................................................................................................................................... 82 3.1 Non-Profitization and the Uses of Two-Spirit Identity ..................................................................... 83 3.2 Imagining Ourselves into Two-Spirit Futures ................................................................................ 101 Works Cited .............................................................................................................................................. 111 Appendix A GREB Letter of Approval .................................................................................................... 119 Appendix B Recruitment Poster ............................................................................................................... 120 Appendix C Project Summary .................................................................................................................. 121 Appendix D Letter of Information and Consent Form ............................................................................. 122 iv Chapter 1 Introduction: Finding Two-Spirit Youth This thesis examines the contemporary lives of urban Two-Spirit youth in Canada as a basis for questioning colonial definitions and methods of managing Indigenous bodies, and for reimagining and restoring the inclusive terms of Indigenous peoplehood. Two-Spirit people in urban spaces are becoming increasingly vocal about their experiences as LGBTQ Indigenous people. However, the trauma of colonization and heteropatriarchy that permeates many Indigenous communities has made it difficult for many to share their identities as Two-Spirit people. In particular, Two-Spirit youth in urban areas contend with many difficulties, from basic shelter to mental health struggles (O’Brien Teengs and Travers 21), as part of day-to-day survival. Moving through the world as a Two-Spirit youth means daily experiencing the historical legacy of heteropatriarchal colonization while simultaneously trying to navigate the complexities of identifying as a Two-Spirit person within both Indigenous and non-Indigenous contexts. As navigating different spaces becomes a tactic of survival, under these conditions finding a sense of community can be difficult. Indigenous scholars offer theories of the importance of Two-Spirit people that firmly re-insert them within the traditions of Indigenous peoples and, more importantly, that create a space in the present for their belonging within Indigenous communities (Wilson 314; Driskill “Shaking Our Shells” 122; Thomas and Jacobs 92). However, to date, there is very little written documentation of urban Two-Spirit stories. Among extant publications such as academic books and essays and manuals or guides created by social service agencies, few have focused on Two-Spirit youth’s experiences within urban centres, with “‘River of Life, Rapids of Change’” (O’Brien Teengs and Travers) and “Two Spirit Youth Speak Out!” (Lerat) being the 1 notable exceptions. This thesis helps to fill in the gap within current literature by examining contemporary urban Two-Spirit youth’s experiences and their understandings of their identities and communities. Centering urban Two-Spirit youth’s narratives in my research brought forth major insights, For Two-Spirit youth, no concrete or uniform idea of Two-Spirit community exists, and in fact Two-Spirit is not a category
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