Two Spirit Women: The More We Know, the More We Heal
Presenter:
Doris “Doe” O’Brien-Teengs, Regional Outreach Worker, Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy, Toronto
Aboriginal Peoples have experienced massive cultural genocide in the last 500 years. More specifically in
the last 120 years, the most affected groups are the sexually diverse. Aboriginal women and those who are
now called Two Spirit people have been targeted and homophobia has been sewn into the fabric of Aboriginal People’s consciousness. Coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered in any Aboriginal community, whether that is a First Nations, Metis or Inuit community, a rural community or a city is a difficult venture because most of the Aboriginal communities – even ‘traditional’ Aboriginal cultures are homophobic and proud of it. Only through telling our stories and celebrating our identities will Aboriginal communities be able to come to a place of Aboriginal balance—a place which includes Two Spirit women. The Two Spirit Women booklet 2nd Edition was written to tell the stories of our past, reveal our colonization and to demonstrate how these affect our lives along with our lived experience. These experiences may be individual, but shared; and only through telling our stories and living our lives will we reach a place of healing in our emotional, physical, mental and spiritual selves.
