Two-Spirit People

Gina Metallic and Le Quotidien
July 1, 2016
Ottawa

Two-spirit. The reality is old, but the term is relatively new. It appeared in 1990 at the Third Annual Inter-Tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference. It refers to people who consider themselves to be both male and female, but do not embrace the roles generally attributed to each of these genders. It’s an inner feeling that’s unrelated to sexuality. In the Indigenous tradition, these people were respected. They were known to have gifts, such as seeing through the eyes of both sexes. Gina Metallic, two-spirit, wants to re-empower this state of being. Communities welcome this initiative.