Native Americans Talk Gender Identity At A ‘Two-Spirit' Powwow

Native Americans Talk Gender Identity At A ‘Two-Spirit' Powwow

San Francisco’s Cow Palace has hosted livestock expositions, Rolling Stones concerts, and a U.S. heavyweight championship.

But this Saturday, it was home to something really special: the nation’s only Native American powwow for “two-spirited” tribe members that’s open to the public.

Two-spirited people don’t all define themselves in the same way. Many say they embody both male and female characteristics, and that such a role was recognized and honored by their tribes before colonization. Others might identify as gay when they’re around outsiders.

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