Two-spirit, it’s what the 2S in 2SLGBTQ+ stands for. But what does it mean to be two-spirit? The ArQuives define two-spirit as an umbrella term that refers to multiple Indigenous sexual, gender, and spiritual identities who saw their names erased during colonization. We sat down with Keith McCrady, Executive Director of 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations, to discuss both what it means to be two-spirit, and some common misconceptions surrounding the term.
“This term is an umbrella term, created by people at a two-spirit conference many years ago, but I think the reason why it was created was to respond to the colonial need to put people in boxes,” McCrady explained.
The executive director shared that because different Indigenous peoples follow different teachings, there is no set definition of what it means to be two-spirit that is agreed upon by all groups. Therefore, the term can mean one of three things.
“Two-spirit could mean that, you know, I am an Indigenous man, and I am queer, I’m gay, I’m bi, whatever. I am two-spirit. That’s how some people identify as part of the 2SLGBTQ spectrum. And that’s accurate for what they know,” McCrady said, adding that for others, being two-spirit can mean something completely different.
“Two-spirit could also mean, I am two-spirit, I am neither male nor female, my gender is two-spirit and that’s how I identify. And that’s accurate for those people.”
McCrady explained that by their teachings, there is another meaning. One that is less defined by one’s gender or sexuality, and more so by their role.
“It’s really a role in our community, a place in our circle. Two-spirit people have roles, they are mediators, they’re medicine people, they’re people who step in when others can’t do their roles,” McCrady explained.
“They’re the person that takes care of children and seniors, they’re the person if we need more warriors, they step up. If we need more hunters and gatherers, they step up. If we need more people doing caretaking, they step up.”
“A lot of two-spirit people are drummers, they’re healers, they’re singers, they’re fire keepers. They’re in those roles that historically might have been traditionally male or female, but they are able to weave in and out of those roles,” McCrady continued.
The executive director believes that most people don’t understand that there are multiple ways to identify as two-spirit.
“A lot of people assume all Indigenous people have the same teaching. But because of colonization, the Catholic influence, discrimination, and stigma, a lot of our communities really aren’t on the same page.”
“[Many] two-spirit people have had to leave their Indigenous communities, and go to urban settings in different places and leave their family because they weren’t welcome. Because of the way that it was coupled with being queer or being part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. There’s a lot of stigma on that.”
It is believed that homophobia and transphobia within Indigenous communities are also an impact of colonization. While not all two-spirit people are queer, and not all queer Indigenous people are two-spirit, McCrady shared their belief that this discrimination is why many two-spirit people welcome being considered part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community regardless.
“But I don’t think that single-handedly is the way that we define it. So it’s important for people to hear that kind of bigger definition of the three terms that could fit [under the umbrella of two-spirit].”
McCrady also reminded us that the definitions they have provided to Queer & Now are based on their own teachings.
“So I respect that other people might have different teachings, different understandings, and that’s part of the oral history of our community,” the executive director continued.
“It’s accurate that people consider it part of the queer community, or part of their gender, or part of their traditional role.”
But McCrady reminds us that within Indigenous history there have always been two-spirit people.
“Since time immemorial. So I mean, as far as we could tell by our storytelling it always existed until the impact of colonization, Western influence, [and] Catholic influence. That’s when it was disrupted.”
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE TWO-SPIRIT: KEITH MCCRADY’S STORY
Both Ojibway and Cree, and a part of the Bear Clan, McCrady used their own experience as a two-spirit person as an example of the different ways someone can identify as two-spirit.
“I came out as a gay man – and I’m Indigenous – when I was 26. But I didn’t consider myself two-spirit,” they shared, adding that changed when they were around 40 years old.
“I took on the role in my community as a two-spirit person, meaning I was ready to take on those responsibilities. And that’s when I identified as two-spirit initially.”
As McCrady got older, they then identified as two-spirit in a different way.
“When I was around 45, or 46, I identified as two-spirit as part of my gender because I knew more, I was educated, I understood more. I had a better understanding of the teachings and who I was and how that related to me and this language,” McCrady said, before sharing an important reminder.
“We have to remember that the English language is not the chosen language of our people. It is not my chosen language. So when someone asks me to define myself, it’s really difficult in those words. So that’s the best way that I could walk alongside the English language and my understanding and my teaching.”
“I really respect my brothers and sisters and cousins out there who really need to be able to identify themselves in the English language as he/him, they/them, she/her.”
But McCrady explained that personally, as a two-spirit person, they do not need to identify themselves as a particular gender.
“But to honour that and to respect those and, you know, we’re in urban Toronto, it’s really important to other people, I respect that. So my pronouns are any and all.”
“But not in the way that it doesn’t matter to me, it does matter, because people are gonna see me how they want to see me. They’re going to see I’m my spirit, they’re gonna see my gender, they’re gonna see my two-spiritedness and kind of make their own assumptions on that. And I’m OK with that,” McCrady explained.
McCrady also shared the belief that mainstream society likes to lump people into categories and boxes. The leader says this leads to two-spirit people being labeled as transgender or non-binary when it’s actually more complicated than that.
“It’s not that simple, it’s quite, you know, there’s a lot of different individual ways that people understand who they are, and everyone’s on a life journey.”
“In the end, when our community is, you know, back to understanding two-spirit values and where they are in the circle, I think we could probably reclaim that term and those words in our own languages, and it would make more sense,” McCrady said, sharing the personal belief that for the time being, it is beneficial for two-spirit people to be considered as part of the queer community.
