|
 Organization: Two Spirit Society of Denver
The Two Spirit Society of Denver is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization comprised of a dedicated group of GBLT Native Americans and their partners in the Denver area who are united by their struggle to restore Two Spirited people to their rightful place in the sacred circle. The mission of the Two Spirit Society of Denver is to strive to restore the traditional role of Two Spirited persons. The Two Spirit Society of Denver provides a safe, social support for Two Spirit people who have moved from the reservation to Denver (many Two Spirit people need sanctuary from the ridicules of modern-day society).
 The Two Spirit Society of Denver’s development was inspired by the empowerment of Native LGBTQ people in the late seventies and early eighties, the birth of the Two Spirit Movement. One of the events that developed out of the Two Spirit movement was the International Two Spirit Gathering, which took place in Minnesota in 1988. The event started as a gathering of Two Spirit people who wanted to return to the remembrance of Native traditions. Through this remembrance, healing began, and in turn, allowed for healing to transpire. The International Two Spirit Gathering has continued this healing tradition for 20 years.
If you are interested in learning more about the the Two Spirit Society of Denver, please utilize the following information:
Website: http://www.denvertwospirit.com
Co-Director: Cristoso Apache
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: (720)-261-1854
Fax: (303)-722-9836
Two Spirit Society of Denver
P.O. Box 140634
Edgewater, CO, 80214
They also accept donations. Visit http://denvertwospirit.com/contribute.php for more information.
 Project: "Two-Spirits" film
Website: http://www.twospirits.org
Contact: Lydia Nibley at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
"Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Gender, and the Murder of Fred Martinez" Film Description:
Haunting and heartbreaking, the documentary Two Spirits artfully interweaves the story of the short life and brutal death of a Navajo teenager with a penetrating examination of the Native American two-spirit tradition. Fred Martinez was nádleehi (pronounced NOD-lay), a male-bodied person with a spiritual essence that is feminine, a special gift according to his ancient Navajo culture. But his determination to express his truest identity tragically cost him his life. He was one of the youngest hate-crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered at sixteen by a young man who bragged to friends that he had “bug-smashed a fag.” Two Spirits explores the life and death of a boy who was also a girl, the fluidity and essentially spiritual nature of gender and sexuality.
 Two Spirits offers an informed and insightful conversation about gender and sexuality that is anchored in traditions that were once widespread among the indigenous cultures of North America. The film explores the history of Native two-spirit people—individuals who combine the traits of both men and women with qualities that are also unique to their status as people who express multiple genders. In Navajo culture there are four genders; in other indigenous cultures there are more. And although two-spirit people were once celebrated in many tribes, today they find their traditions and even their existence in Native history denied or denigrated, and this heritage is in danger of being entirely lost.
 It is widely understood that violence is perpetrated against LGBT people in every corner of the globe, yet it is far less commonly known that many indigenous peoples around the world have always recognized the natural complexity of gender and sexuality—something that can be seen in their creation stories and in spiritual traditions that offer a more sophisticate and humane perspective. Stories like those told in Two Spirits are sorely needed to deepen the conversation, bring a richer historical perspective to the mainstream media, and to challenge audiences to experience a completely different mindset.
The film mourns the loss of young Fred Martinez’s life and the threatened disappearance of the two-spirit tradition, but it also brims with hope and the belief that we all are enriched by multi-gendered people, and that all of us—regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or cultural heritage—must be free to be our truest selves. The film makes the case that in the twenty-first century we need to return to traditional values.
|
Fund an Org
