Two-Spirit

Two-Spirit (sometimes written two spirit or shortened to 2S) is a term that emerged in 1990 at the third annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference in Winnipeg, where Elder Myra Laramee proposed it. It draws on the Anishinaabemowin phrase niizh manidoowag, meaning someone who holds both a masculine and feminine spirit. The term was coined to distinguish Indigenous understandings of gender and sexuality from those of non-Native lesbian and gay people and to replace older, demeaning anthropological labels. Many nations have long recognized these roles under their own names, and roles vary widely from culture to culture. Two-Spirit is specific to Indigenous people, and non-Indigenous people should not use it to describe themselves.