Violence Toward Trans and Two-Spirit People Conceptualized as Difficult History

• In Event: Critical Perspectives on Teaching Difficult History

Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this work is link the historic record of the violence directed toward and near-annihilation of Two Spirit indigenous people to the modern-day experiences of many trans-identified people living in a society characterized by rigid definitions of gender identity and expectations. Further, the author posits that this work falls within the concept of difficult knowledge as defined by Britzman (1998) and Pitt & Britzman (2003) and as further interrogated within the social studies by Garrett (2011) and Sheppard (2010).

Conceptual Framework

The term Two Spirit refers to the Native American recognition and understanding that some individuals are born with the presence of both a feminine and a masculine spirit within their individual bodies. Lang (1997) wrote, “The acceptance of gender-variant individuals in Native American cultures can be seen as part of a worldview that realizes and appreciates transformation, change, and ambiguity in the world at large as well as in individuals” (p. 114). Unfortunately, Tinker (1993) concludes that upon colonization by Europeans, traditional ceremonial and social roles held by Two Spirit individuals were undermined; inclusivity and acceptance were replaced with condemnation and shame. The influence of Western ideas, including Christianity, also caused many Natives to “forget” their traditional teachings. This “forgetting” represents part of the violence directed toward indigenous ways of thinking and falls squarely within Sheppard’s (2010) conceptualization of difficult histories.




Methods/Data Sources

Historical research methodology, including archival research at the National Anthropological Archives in Washington, D.C., was used to develop many of the ideas for this presentation. The author visited the site over a four-day period in August 2010, where the archivist had laid out boxes filled with various folders of materials on various Two Spirit individuals along with descriptions of who they were and how they interacted with various photographers, researchers, politicians, and various community members. The author also examined photocopies of hand-written journals created by the people who observed behaviors of various Two Spirit people. The purpose of this investigation was to locate evidence from primary sources, rather than relying solely on the accounts of Brown (1997), Lang (1997), Roscoe (1998) and other anthropologists on record. To draw a contrast between the historical records centered on the Diné, the Crowe, and the Zuni people seen at the National Archives, and given the convenience of place, an in-depth interview with a local Ojibwe (O-jib-way) leader was conducted to ascertain her experience with and understanding of the Two Spirit tradition among her people.

Results/Significance

As a result of this work, students obtain an expanded understanding of gender that reaches beyond our current dichotomous view of “male” and “female.” Further, students may more readily accept gender variance, including the presence of transgender individuals, when they are exposed to nuanced social education that is influenced by traditional, indigenous understanding of being Two Spirit. This understanding will decrease the bullying that now occurs in schools when students “violate” rigid gender norms.

Author

• J.B. Mayo, University of Minnesota