EPL Picks: Two-Spirited Authors

For those who may not be familiar with the term, author and Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer member of Peguis First Nation Joshua Whitehead offers this definition "Two-spirit (2S) originated in 1990 in Winnipeg as a pan-term that pays respect to the diversity of 2S across hundreds of nations, each with their own understanding, stories, and responsibilities for what a 2S person does and entails within their community." The media organization Indian Country Today offers the following alternate definition: "Two Spirit people have both a male and female spirit within them and are blessed by their Creator to see life through the eyes of both genders." Indian Country Today—which covers Native American people in North America as well as First Nations people in Canada and Indigenous people worldwide, also explains that many nations have their own words to describe two-spirit people. As you can see the term Two-Spirit is constantly evolving and will vary depending on which people from which nation you are speaking with. EPL has many two-spirited authors in its collection from which we can learn more. Below are a few of those authors as well as some related articles that further illuminate this topic.