Wingte, Wingte dance with me
Not Man Nor Woman Nor He or She
Not Red or Yellow or Black or Green
Not Us, Nor Them But Walks-Between
Heyana, Heyana, Heyana, HO!
Heyana, Heyana, Heyana, HO!
(modern Two-Spirit Song)
"In 1530, Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca wrote in his diary of seeing "soft" native Indian males in Florida tribes, dressing and working as women."
I cut this quote out of an Asheville free newspaper about 10 years ago, and literally glued down a collage on top of the desk where I sit down to write every day. It would me remember the Truth...the history of my people, lest it might have been forgotten.
The article, written by Ann Paige in the once-popular Asheville GLBT publication called Out in Asheville, had a tremendous effect on me. I made a commitment to myself, to go out on my own, in search of the remaining NATIVE androgynous people of this world! My quest led me from the Amazon to Siberia to New York to Idaho. Today, as a result of my search, I'm happy to say that the "Two Spirit Person" is not a relic of the past, nor do they exist solely in the ethereal realm. For all of the ancient two-spirits still roaming this earth as spirit beings, there are also a whole tribe of us remaining here, in the flesh.
Every day of my life, I am visited by the spirits of the ones who "walk between the worlds," the "he-she-they" spirits. They come to me in dreams and visions...especially when I am fucking. My ancestors love them some GUUUD SEX! They scream in ecstasy when I do, for you see...I still have the gift of living in a human body...a human body which is neither "he" nor "she". Every tribe has a name for me. The Lakota call us the wingte (pronounced WINK-tay).
For all of the ones who call to me in my dreams, there are also the ones who call me on my cell phone and even message me on Facebook! From Cherokee to the Shoshone Indian Reservation to the urban enclaves of Seattle and New York, I've come to know my sweet Brother-Sisters--ones who are still alive here, with us, on this Earth, to carry this history and walk with this medicine called Wingte..
The Two-Spirit nation are not a relic of the past. For my two-spirit friends who are reading what I'm writing here, now, this all is "old hat". We already know who we are. But for those others in my world, and in my community, who still like to call me "man" or "woman" or "gentleman"...I hope that what I've written here has brought some joy to your heart, and a renewed sense of hope for our existence, beyond the old duality of "he" and "she".
Blessed Be, and Amen.
All our Relations!
(to be continued)
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