Two Spirit
Understanding History
What Is Turtle Island?
The story below was written from an Ojibwa Oral Story. This is one version of the Turtle Island story. This story varies within Indigenous Communities.
Long ago, there was a creator of the Universe who lived among the stars. He spent most of his time watching the creations that lived on Mother Earth. He noticed a feminine Sky Spirit who lived on the Moon. He asked for her help to create thinking and creative beings to live on Mother Earth. She soon became pregnant with his children. She was excited to prepare for them so she descended to Mother Earth. She molded trees into a lodge to house them, then hung hides within the lodge to keep them warm. She shared her good news with the animals around her, and soon the excitement grew.
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The Water Spirit was enraged with jealousy. She held all of the power over the water that was on Mother Earth. In a fit of rage, she flooded all the land on Mother Earth. The Sky Spirit leapt back onto the Moon, saddened with what she saw. She knelt down to Mother Earth and saw three animals that had powered through the Water Spirit's anger. The three animals were the Loon, the Turtle and the Muskrat.
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The Sky Spirit knew she could not create Mother Earth, but with her Feminine power, she could help to recreate. She looked to the animals and spoke to them, "please go to the bottom of the ocean and grab some soil, with that, I can grow land back on Mother Earth". The Loon and Turtle took turns diving deep into the water. As hours passed, there was no luck. The Muskrat was scared, he had never dove deep into the water before, he had only swam within shallow water. He took three deep breathes then pushed his body under the water.
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The day had turned into night and still there was no sign of the Muskrat. Then the sun started to rise and off into the distance they could see something floating. They all pushed their way through and saw that it was the Muskrat. Sadly, the Muskrat didn't make it. They looked at his hands and noticed that his one fist was closed. When looking further, they saw that he had indeed reached the bottom of the Ocean and had completed the goal. The Sky Spirit took the soil and laid it upon the Turtle's back, creating the land known as Turtle Island (North America). The Sky Spirit was so proud of the Muskrat that she brought him back to life.
In many Indigenous Communities, the Muskrat is valued for his dedication and perseverance because of the sacrifice he made on that day.
Two Spirit Roles In Communities
Two Spirit people have been around well before European Settlers landed on Turtle Island. Two Spirit people were seen as honored and special within their communities because they were gifted with Two Spirits, a Masculine and a Feminine. Two Spirit Individuals were often seen as Healers, Medicine People and Compromisers. People in the community would often go to Two Spirit Individuals to help mend disputes as they could see both sides of an argument, the masculine perspective and the feminine perspective.
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Two Spirit people were seen as highly connected to the spiritual world and would help in ceremonies that carried people into the after life. Two Spirit people held special roles within their communities.
Understanding Colonialization
Where Does Gender Tie In to Colonization?
On Turtle Island, many Indigenous Communities sought roles based on skills and capabilities, not by genitalia. Although there were certain patterns within who preformed which task, responsibilities were not exclusive to one sex (Note: This can differ based on the Indigenous Community and the Ceremonies preformed). Many Indigenous languages were expansive and had terms outside the gender binary. Some Indigenous languages didn’t even have a gender binary and instead were categorized by being either animate or inanimate. This differed from European colonial communities who had specific gender roles and used male and female gendered language.
When European settlers met Two-Spirit Individuals, they were perplexed by their androgynous appearance and role within the community. In developed parts of Europe, gender roles were important to establish class, privileges and role within family planning. Two-Spirit Individuals were seen as a threat to European gender expectations and because of that, were forced to conform to the gender roles of their biological sex.
Residential Schools helped to push the ideas of gendered roles within society. They separated youth based on sex and taught them the expectations that correlated to a European gender norm.
Through the generational trauma of experiencing the abuse of Residential Schools, the role of Two-Spirit Individuals slowly decreased within communities. To this day, some Indigenous groups still do not recognize Two-Spirit People as valid or worthy of place in their community.