The Two-Spirited Rebirth of Indigenous Nations: An Interview with Waawaate Fobister

More than 155 Indigenous nations of North America had a word to describe people beyond the binary of male and female, with some tribes recognizing up to six different gender categories. Individuals were usually observed as 'neither man nor woman' from an early age, with many communities holding rituals of passage to determine whether a child would be drawn to a unique combination of gender roles. In others, a portentous dream or vision was often regarded as a signal. Such people were generally held in high regard, with their qualities seen as a gift conferring important spiritual responsibilities.

The ease with which multiple gender formations were received within tribal cultures represented more than the hiving of an extra category into an essentially binary system. Rather, it spoke to a worldview that valued the complex interrelationships of all living things. Many Aboriginal nations respected the powers of transformation, with creatures and spirits from traditional cosmologies shifting between the worlds of fish and sky; birth and death; man and woman. If a person was born with both male and female characteristics it was expected that their creation had received great care from the Spirit and they were consequently blessed with unique abilities.