Understanding Two-Spirit Identity

Understanding Two-Spirit Identity: A Journey Through Culture and Self

by Shannon Humphrey (They/Them/Theirs/I/We/Human)
Nanâtawihowin Two Spirit Program Keeper
Red Deer Native Friendship Society

Tansi! My name is Shannon Humphrey, and I use all pronouns. I am your Two Spirit IndigiQueer warrior. I am a learner, a teacher, a storyteller, an advocate, a coach, a friend, and a parent. I am passionate about creating awareness, visibility, and meaningful change that empowers individuals to take ownership of their most authentic identities through the process of self determination. It is my goal to challenge the way people think, redefine words, and reclaim our identities, our spaces, and our stories.

I am Two Spirit, and I know that a lot of people may not understand what it means to hold an intersectional spiritual identity. My own understanding of what it means to be Two Spirit evolves daily. There is fluidity in identity so naturally, aspects of your identity change and grow over time. To put it simply, having an intersectional spiritual identity means that no one person is defined by one thing. Each and every one of us have multiple aspects that make up our identity and inform how we move through the world. While gender diversity makes up one part of who I am, it is not all that I am. While Cree is my cultural identity, it is also not all that I am. I can be indigenous and queer without one making the other less true. The same is true for all intersectional identities. One aspect of identity does not negate another. Two Spirit can mean many things to many people, and understandings of the identity can shift as the medicine wheel rolls across turtle island. While there is no concise way to define Two Spirit, it can be summarized by saying that someone who is Two Spirit walks in two worlds, each providing balance to the other. Two Spirits carry both masculine and feminine spirits. We are able to both carry water, and keep fire; ultimately embody air filling the space where needed. Being two spirit means work because we help out where we can. We walk in the indigenous way while also occupying a queer space. When I say queer, I am talking about so much more than binary sexuality or gender. When I say queer, I am talking about the socialization process, the way we understand roles in community, and how we embody our teachings. Fluidity is ancestral, and expression is a form of self determination.

In Cree we say Tawaw, meaning, “You are welcome, there is room.” While this is a literal translation of the word it can be expanded to embody the teachings of our two spirit community. Tawaw is an expression of kinship and love, and it means that you are welcome to share space with me any time. My home is yours, my friendship is yours, my culture is yours, and you are safe here. Tawaw is the philosophy I live by because it embodies the importance of creating and holding space for all people.

Shannon's Recommended Reads

Available at Red Deer Public Library:

This Place, opens a new window

Also check out the 'This Place' Podcast, opens a new window, which I believe adds depth to the story.

Not Available at RDPL:

Gender Queer, opens a new window by Maia Kobabe (can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan)
Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature, opens a new window by Qwo-Li Driskill (Editor), Chris Finley (Editor), Brian Joseph Gilley (Editor), Scott Lauria Morgensen (Editor)
Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature, opens a new window by Qwo-Li Driskill (Editor), Daniel Heath Justice (Editor), Deborah Miranda (Editor), Lisa Tatonetti (Editor) (can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan)