Relationships in the North

 The Two Spirited People of the North
After discussing how far north is Northern Environments with the class in our early lectures we decided it was up to our choosing.  This week was suppose to be focused on relationships in the North. We got to learn about women in the North, family relations, and about northern communities.

Not discussed in our lectures was a more important issue hitting our own city here in Manitoba. Just reading the paper recently, homophobia has taken a center stage in our media. From the opposition of Bill 18 in Steinbach, to business owners being run out of town in Morris, to homes being vandalized in Winnipeg.

http://www.dancingtoeagle
spiritsociety.org/twospirit.php

What type of relationship do we have here in Manitoba with the LGBTTQ community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Two-Spirited and Queer)?

If we look back into our history, we have taken a backwards approach to this community in regards to gay rights (or human rights). An identity that many people don't know the meaning of in todays culture is a two-spirited person. People who identify themselves as two-spirited were put into cross gender roles. Men would take on the responsibilities of women, and women the responsibilities of men.  Men would marry other men, and women to other women. These people were believed to have two spirits, that of a man and that of a woman.

 In Native american culture, before European settlement, a two-spirited person was regarded as gifted, and as a teacher.  In over 155 different tribes across North America cross gender identity has been recorded and were accepted by their community, honoured and revered. They were treated as visionaries, healers, medicine people, nannies of orphans, and caregivers. They were given the respect that any human deserves.

Since European colonization we have taken a backwards approach with our spirited people of North America. They have been alienated from their aboriginal identity being viewed as perverted, nontraditional  and untrustworthy loosing their place in society.

(To learn more about the Two - Spirited people in North America, go to http://www.dancingtoeaglespiritsociety.org/twospirit.php.)

Canada has been one of the worlds front runners in regards to gay rights having same sex activity legal since 1969, recognition of same sex unions, nationwide same sex marriage accepted, adoption, able to serve openly in the military, and bans against all anti gay discrimination. But recently our society has not been as accepting as what is written on our human rights act.

If you want to learn more about Gay Rights in Canada, e-mail me for a PDF of a paper I wrote on the subject for an international development project.  

I can only hope that our children learn to become more accepting and can learn from traditional views of two - spirited people in our communities so stories such as a 14 year old boy being bullied in his school for trying to develop a resource center for homosexual people can stop.  So families are no longer being run out of town due to homophobia and so that hate slurs will no longer be accepted to be written on someones home. Relationships of acceptance of others are what we need to be building in today's society, and we can use and learn from our past to develop this.