Happy Native American Heritage Month!
The history of Native American Heritage Month stretches back to the early 20th Century. Grassroots efforts from key figures such as Dr. Arthur Caswell Parker, a Cattaraugus Seneca, and the Reverend Red Fox James, helped garner public support for a day honoring the contributions of indigenous Americans. Support grew through the 20th Century, culminating in National Native American Heritage Month being enshrined in 1992. Learn more about National Native American Heritage Month here!
Native American Heritage Month is also a valuable time to honor the unique ways queer Native Americans and First Nations people have shaped our understanding of identity and community. You may have heard the word “Two Spirit,” a term broadly referring to individuals who occupy both indigenous and LGBTQ+ identities. According to the National Museum of the American Indian, the term is derived from niizh manidoowag (two spirits) in the Anishinaabe language and was adopted into the modern pan-Indian vocabulary in 1990. Members of other tribes may choose to use words to refer to queer individuals that are derived from their own language, such as winkte/winkta (Lakota/Dakota), badé (Crow), mixoge (Osage), and nàdleehé (Diné).
Learn more here:
We are also writing right at the tail end of Transgender Awareness Week, which runs through Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20. Transgender Day of Remembrance, or TDOR, began in 1999, inaugurated by the transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith. Smith sought to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a trans woman who was killed in 1998, and highlight the trans lives lost that are so often overlooked. Since then, every November, people in communities across the world gather to remember and honor those who have passed.
“Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.”
– Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith
Learn more about TDOR and Transgender Awareness Week with these resources:
Earlier in November, on the first Sunday of the month, we celebrated Transgender Parent Day. Begun in 2009 and celebrated every year after that, Transgender Parent Day celebrates the contributions of trans parents to their families and communities. To learn more about Transgender Parent Day, check out these resources:
Every November is an opportunity to honor and uplift every part of our community.
Take care, and as always, the LGBTQ Center is here to connect you to the resources, support, and education you need!