SISSETON, S.D. – Members of the
newly-formed Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Two Spirit Society gathered on
Sept. 26 to educate members of the tribe on LGBTQ Native issues while
honoring one of their own who was killed earlier in the month.
The group – the first Two Spirit
society in any of the nine reservations in South Dakota – began its
mission in June of this year. A testament to the growing power of
social media on the reservation, the event “Gay is OK” was the
impetus for forming the society. “We all went out to the corner,
stood outside and held signs. And while we were standing there, we
talked about forming a society, so we set a meeting date and from
then on, it’s been going ever since,” Vernon Renville, society
co-founder said.
The momentum culminated in the
education day at Sisseton Wahpeton College, “Walking in Two Worlds:
Understanding Two Spirit and LGBTQ Individuals.” The daylong
conference featured personal coming out stories by Sisseton Wahpeton
tribal citizens, a screening of the film “Two Spirits” about the
late Fred Martinez – who identified as Two Spirit and was killed in
2001 on the Navajo Nation – as well as a presentation on LGBTQ
identity from Lenny Hayes, a tribal citizen and member of the
Minnesota Two Spirit Society.
While the society is geared toward
creating a place for Two Spirit people, it is an inclusive group that
began because of the social stigma attached to being LGBTQ on the
reservation. “I previously worked at the youth center and kids
would come to me, or their parents would come to me, asking how to
talk to their kids. Or they think they’re having these feeling and we
discussed things like that and decided it would be something good for
the community,” Dawn Ryan, SWO society member said.
It’s been a struggle, confronting a
community that attaches shame to the LGBTQ identity for the
newly-formed society. “The reception has been pretty positive.
There are still some who think it shouldn’t be talked about. The
older ones in the community, it sounds as if they think it should be
like, ‘if that’s the way someone is, then just let it be and don’t
acknowledge it,’” Crystal Owen, ally and society member said. “And
I don’t know why that is but I believe that everyone has a right to
be acknowledged and appreciated and loved for who they are. We become
too oppressed if we don’t talk about it, if we remain oppressed by
that type of thinking, it’s not good.”
She hopes to see members of the tribe
as well as elected officials welcome the existence of the society.
Part of Owen’s journey in joining the society as a straight ally has
been acknowledging her children who identify as Two Spirit. “I
don’t think a lot of dialogue has been going on. To me, it’s just
that people are fearful of the unknown. I think it’s just fear, a
lack of education, a lack of knowledge. My son is gay, I have three
daughters who might say they are bisexual. So I have seven kids and
four out of the seven have at some time identified [as LGBTQ].”
Renville struggled to find his place
as a Two Spirit in his tribal community, but through prayer and
asking his elders about the place they held in Dakota culture, he has
found some wisdom. “I discovered that we weren’t actually outcasts.
We weren’t shunned or anything, that we were actually highly-revered
people and we were assassinated – I guess you could say – by the
Europeans.”
Unfortunately, that wisdom came too
late for two members of the community who identified as LGBTQ. On
Sept. 8, Dallas Farmer was killed in his home in Old Agency Village.
Reports allege one of his brothers was responsible for the killing.
“Everyone took it hard because Dallas is a young man. We’ve just
seen him in the community, he was such a free spirit, he wasn’t
ashamed of who he was as a Two Spirit person. So I think the
community was shocked at his death. How could such a young, beautiful
spirit have to die and leave this earth in such a way, such a violent
way,” Own said.
An empty chair, star quilt and photo of Farmer was set out during the
event, as well as for Jarrod Marks, another Two Spirit tribal citizen
who was murdered in Chicago last year. “I want to honor him in
every good way that we can and remember him in a good way because he
was a part of our society. Him being part of our society was one of
the main reasons why I felt it need be we honor him. His family is a
good family, they’re good people,” Renville said.
For Owen, she hopes that the dialogue
started at the event will continue until their tribe welcomes Two
Spirit individuals, instead of shunning them. “My hopes for the
future would be that people would be more more aware, that our
schools would become educators of acceptance of each other. There’s
so many young people who are maybe questioning their sexuality at a
young age, I think maybe everybody goes through that. To be able to
accept our young people, if that’s who they are, then to accept them
for that would be good because there’s too much bullying and
mean-spirited comments.”
PHOTO: Lenny Hayes, Minnesota Two
Spirit Society and SWO member, presents information on what the LGBTQ
identity means for tribal communities. (Photo by Alfred Walking Bull)