George Mason University ‘Pride Week’ to include ‘Two-Spirit Storytelling’
‘Two-Spirit’ is a controversial term used by some activists as the supposed Native American version of ‘LGBTQ+.’
The speaker is executive director of an organization that means to ‘restore self-determination to Two-Spirit and Native LGBTQ+ relatives.’
The LGBTQ+ Resources Center at George Mason University in Virginia is organizing a “Pride Week” celebration that will include an event dedicated to “Two-Spirit Storytelling.”
Events for “Pride Week” will start on March 24 and end on April 4.
The “Two-Spirit Storytelling” event will take place on March 28, and will feature Elton Naswood, a “Two-Spirit Navejo/Diné Knowledge Keeper.” Naswood is also the Executive Director of the Two-Spirit & Native LGBTQ+ Center for Equity, a group whose mission is to “restore self-determination to Two-Spirit and Native LGBTQ+ relatives, by reclaiming Two-Spirit identities into the community and cultural structures.”
This is not the first time George Mason University has hosted Naswood, who previously participated in another LGBTQ+ Resources Center event in November, 2022 commemorating “LGBTQ+ History Month and Native American & Indigenous Heritage Month.”
The controversial term “two-spirit” was invented by Myra Laramee, an elder of the Fisher River Cree Nation, at a 1990 “Annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference.”
Laramee shared more about the term—which is used by some activists as a Native American equivalent to “LGBTQ+”—at the 1990 conference, describing a dream in which she saw “seven spirits” that were “[s]hifting between male and female forms” before “two of these spirits declared that Laramee” was “Two-Spirit.”
The “2S” in the acronym “2SLGBTQ+” favored by certain activists stands for “Two-Spirit.”
Previous iterations of George Mason University’s “Pride Week” schedule, at least from 2022-2024, have not mentioned the “Two-Spirit” identity.
Other George Mason University “Pride Week” events include a “queer and trans inclusive self-defense class,” an “LGBTQ+ Walking Tour,” and the awarding of “LGBTQ”-themed recognitions.
The University of Michigan’s Spectrum Center is also planning a “Pride Month” for April that is “dedicated to celebrating and commemorating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, queer, asexual, intersex, and two-spirit people and communities at the University of Michigan.”
Campus Reform contacted George Mason University and the Two-Spirit & Native LGBTQ+ Center for Equity for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
