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A review by poisonenvy
Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal, and Sovereignty in Native America by Gregory D. Smithers
informative
4.0
I think it's important to note, first and foremost, that Gregory Smithers is not Indigenous. He is forthright in the fact that he is, in fact, a white man from Australia. But in this book, he does centre Indigenous voices, having spoken with two-spirit people from nations all over North America, and claims that his whiteness may have been a boon in some regards: no one he spoke to assumed he had culture knowledge, and so they were careful to explain specific nuances that they may have taken for granted that he understood otherwise. I can't say for sure how accurate this assessment might be, but I'll roll with it until I have evidence to the contrary.
This book begins with colonial and pre-colonial history, examining written colonial accounts of, to use an anachronist term, queer indigenous people and then taking those colonial accounts (which were beyond degrading) and attempting to filter them through indigenous cultural knowledge and beliefs. He discusses how quickly homophobia spread across North America in the 19th/20th centuries, and discusses too how Two-Sprited people have worked to reclaim this part of their culture and history.
The Two-Spirit movement is a pan-tribal movement -- queer Indigenous folks have worked across nations to bring it to what it is -- but Smithers doesn't fall into the trap of thinking that means that it's a universal experience across nations. He makes sure to talk with people from a variety of different nations to gather their individual experiences as people, and also to discuss the specific terms used in their own languages and the traditions in their own nations. He speaks with a great deal of people, and had those conversations help shape the book he wrote. He speaks about queer and Two-Spirit indigenous leaders, and the people who helped bring the movement to where it is now, and how they have been working to decolonize their identities.
Overall, this seems to be a very well-researched and thoughtful book.
I listened to at least part of this book on audio, and the audiobook was very listenable.
This book begins with colonial and pre-colonial history, examining written colonial accounts of, to use an anachronist term, queer indigenous people and then taking those colonial accounts (which were beyond degrading) and attempting to filter them through indigenous cultural knowledge and beliefs. He discusses how quickly homophobia spread across North America in the 19th/20th centuries, and discusses too how Two-Sprited people have worked to reclaim this part of their culture and history.
The Two-Spirit movement is a pan-tribal movement -- queer Indigenous folks have worked across nations to bring it to what it is -- but Smithers doesn't fall into the trap of thinking that means that it's a universal experience across nations. He makes sure to talk with people from a variety of different nations to gather their individual experiences as people, and also to discuss the specific terms used in their own languages and the traditions in their own nations. He speaks with a great deal of people, and had those conversations help shape the book he wrote. He speaks about queer and Two-Spirit indigenous leaders, and the people who helped bring the movement to where it is now, and how they have been working to decolonize their identities.
Overall, this seems to be a very well-researched and thoughtful book.
I listened to at least part of this book on audio, and the audiobook was very listenable.