ribal Equity Toolkit 3.0: T TRIBAL RESOLUTIONS AND CODES TO SUPPORT TWO SPIRIT & LGBTQ JUSTICE IN INDIAN COUNTRY A COLLABORATION OF WESTERN STATES CENTER, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS, NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS, CENTER FOR NATIVE AMERICAN YOUTH AT ASPEN INSTITUTE, NATIONAL CENTER FOR TRANSGENDER EQUALITY, NATIONAL LGBTQ TASKFORCE, NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS, MOVEMENT ADVANCEMENT PROJECT, TRANSGENDER LAW CENTER, FAMILY EQUALITY COUNCIL, GAY, LESBIAN & STRAIGHT EDUCATION NETWORK, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN, PFLAG NATIONAL, PFLAG PHOENIX NATIVE AMERICAN CHAPTER, SERVICES AND ADVOCACY FOR GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL ELDERS, NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAM OF LEGAL AID SERVICES OF OREGON, BASIC RIGHTS OREGON, AND LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE Edited by Se-ah-dom Edmo and Aaron Ridings Foreword by Robert Kentta MARCH 16, 2017 Artwork by Asa Wright, (Klamath/Modoc) Thesebraids Art & Design, Portland, OR. paper where Native people told their own stories. I believe we are in a time where Native people are rewriting our history and telling our own stories to determine our own futures. This toolkit is an example of Native people determining the future for Native people. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PAST: Since time immemorial, Indigenous Nations of what now is known as the United States have been Sovereigns; been responsible for the health and wellbeing of our citizenry, an endeavor that is intergenerational and connects each generation to the work of our ancestors. In the spirit of this kinship connection, we respectfully acknowledge the collective wisdom and traditions of our ancestors. PRESENT: We express our gratitude to our partners, allies and collaborators, specifically: Members of the National Congress of American Indians for passing the Standing in Support of our Two Spirit Relatives in our Communities and Nations resolution. “NCAI supports its member tribes to pursue governmental policy changes such as those outlined in the Tribal EQuity Toolkit: Tribal Resolutions and Codes for Two Spirit and LGBTQ Justice.”1 Members of the National Congress of American Indians for passing the Creation of Two Spirit Task Force resolution. “NCAI does hereby establish a Two Spirit Task Force to assist in the coordination, collaboration, and outreach to Indian Country on Two Spirit issues; and to develop and share approaches and solutions to policy issues that affect Two Spirit/LGBTQ community members in a manner consistent with the Indian self-determination.”2 The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, for their intention and action in operationalizing Two Spirit/LGBTQ equity work on behalf of their Tribal Citizens. The Center for American Progress for convening a broad coalition of organizations in 2016 to review and strengthen resources contained within the third edition of the toolkit, including the National Congress of American Indians, Center for Native American Youth at Aspen Institute, National Center for Transgender EQuality, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Movement Advancement Project, Transgender Law Center, Family EQuality Council, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG National, PFLAG Phoenix Native American Chapter, and SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders). The staff and interns from all of these organizations who reviewed and provided edits for the third edition of the toolkit including Harper Jean Tobin, Heron Greenesmith, Naomi Goldberg, Sharita Gruberg, Kellan Baker, Emily Hecht-McGowan, Austen Brandford, Cathy Sakimura, Tyrone Hanley, Diego Sanchez, Sheila Lopez, Erik Stegman, Josie Raphaelito, Sarah Pytalski, Amber Ebarb, Sarah Warbelow, Arli Christian, Ma'ayan Anafi, Nathan Smith, Denise Brogan-Kator, Megan Bench, Asaf Orr, Carolyn Reyes, Emily Haan, Shannon Minter, Ming Wong, Zsea Beaumonis, Meghan Maury, Victoria M. Rodriguez-Roldan, Robin Maril, Aaron Tax, Liz Owen, Jean-Marie Navetta, Jamie Henkel, Hilary Meyer, Tim Johnston, Sherrill Wayland, Frank Bewkes, Caitlin Rooney, Nicholas Taxera, Steven Soto, Maddy Lincoln, and Sasha J. Buchert (reviewer of both the first and third editions of the toolkit). The Native American Program of Legal Aid Services of Oregon, specifically, Jennifer Amiott and Melissa Parsons, for their time, dedication, thorough research and commitment to this cause, and Kristy Barrett, for her leadership, willingness and courage to be the first Native firm to produce a work such as this. To LeaAnn Easton, for her mentorship and critical eye. Tribal Equity Toolkit 3.0 1 The Basic Rights Oregon Legal Advisory Group, for much appreciated attention to detail, current framing of these issues and how they relate to the lived experience of our LGBTQ community, specifically to Kodey Park Bambino, Shauna Ballo, Jeana Frazzini, Amy Ruiz, Aubrey Harrison, tash shatz, Sasha Buchert, Peter Dakota Molof, and Homero Luna. Western States Center, for their investment, constant support, advice, guidance and encouragement of our team—for the willingness to and encouragement of us to strike out and dream big, specifically to Walidah Imarisha, Aimee Santos-Lyons, Kalpana Krishnamurthy and Kelley Weigel. The Pride Foundation and Western States Center for funding printing and distribution of the first edition. To Asa Wright for their design skills and James Parker for layout and editing advice. The Graduate School at Lewis & Clark College, for their willingness to invest and publish the first two editions of this work. FUTURE: In the spirit of this stewardship, we respectfully acknowledge our generations rising; for it is in their interest that we carry forward this work, and it is to them that we entrust it. -Se-ah-dom Edmo and Aaron Ridings, Co-editors Two Spirit Organizations Two Spirit Societies and Organizations Directory: http://nativeout.com/twospirit-rc/two-spirit-societies/ National Congress of American Indians Two Spirit Task Force: Amber Ebarb at 503-466-7767 or [email protected] Center for Native American Youth at Aspen Institute Native LGBTQ-Two Spirit Youth Project: Josie Raphaelito at 202-736-2905 or josie.raphaelito@aspeninstituteorg Western States Center Two Spirit Justice Programs: Se-ah-dom Edmo at 503-768-6155 or [email protected] PFLAG Phoenix Native American Chapter: http://www.nativepflag.org Sheila Lopez at 602-803-3907 or [email protected] Two Spirit Journal: http://twospiritjournal.com Harlan Pruden at http://twospiritjournal.com/?page_id=4 Native Out: http://nativeout.com Marlon Fixio at http://nativeout.com/contact-us/ Two Spirit People: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Historic and Contemporary Native America at http://www.ncai.org/policy-research-center/initiatives/Pruden-Edmo_TwoSpiritPeople.pdf *Partner organization websites are listed on page 91 Tribal Equity Toolkit 3.0 2 FOREWORD Dear Relatives: As Native people, we have all experienced, in our own individual and shared way, what it means to be treated as less than human. Our lands were taken, our people slaughtered, we had diseases and poisoning influences injected among us, and our children taken from our homes and placed in institutions of assimilation – in an attempt to conQuer and control us, and to make us more like those who thought they had control of us. We have had to survive dehumanizing federal policies that treated us as misbehaving children, as if we were unable to live responsibly or make decisions for ourselves, as if we did not have the right to be treated as equals, as fully human. Our Tribal societies have been damaged by this onslaught of policies, forced change, and the unspeakable losses and grief we have suffered. In spite of all of that, today we stand stronger than we have for several generations, able to exercise communal and individual decision-making on our own behalf – more than our grandparents and their parents ever dared to hope. Today we are reclaiming and reincorporating those parts of ourselves that it was the goal of federal polices to alienate. Our sense of natural law, and the blessings of our creator’s gifts, is restored in the present generations, and all of us - having been wronged - have a strong sense of what social justice is, and what it should look like. Two Spirit is a term in the English Language that attempts to incorporate and honor the hundreds of ancient, respectful, Native Language terms that were used for thousands of years within our Tribal societies. Two Spirit is used to denote people who traditionally have special roles within our communities, our cultures, and our ceremonial life. Our people were strong and beautiful in our traditional understanding of life, and that we all have different gifts. Two Spirit indicates an ability to see the world from both male and female perspectives and to bridge the world of male and female. The concept of balance is important in our traditional views, and balance can be between people, or groups, or within a particular person. “Two Spirit” expresses the concept of balance within a person. Since the time of contact with Europeans, our Two Spirit people and our societal beliefs surrounding Two Spirit roles and contributions to our communities have been marginalized and stigmatized, resulting in marginalized people and groups of people within our families and tribal communities. This has led to perceptions that unprovoked violence against these unsupported persons is permitted, other times it leads to our unsupported members hurting themselves, whether with one (perhaps final) act; or many, which slice away at the chances of a productive life. When one of our members is oppressed and wrongfully