Two-Spirit Is Not a “Made-Up Term”—And This Rhetoric Isn’t Welcome Here

Every so often, I come across a comment that reminds me just how much misinformation is still circulating about the term Two-Spirit. Recently, someone dismissed it as a “made-up” concept, claiming it wasn’t a real Indigenous identity. That kind of rhetoric isn’t just inaccurate—it’s harmful. And it’s not welcome on my page or in any space I hold.

Let’s set the record straight.

The term Two-Spirit (niizh manidoowag in Anishinaabemowin) was chosen by Indigenous people themselves in 1990 at the third annual intertribal Native American/First Nations gay and lesbian conference in Winnipeg. It serves as a pan-Indigenous umbrella term to describe gender-diverse and LGBTQ+ identities that are rooted in traditional cultural and spiritual roles. These identities have always existed in Indigenous communities, long before colonization forced rigid Western understandings of gender and sexuality.

Two-Spirit does not replace Nation-specific terms or roles—it offers a way to speak about these sacred identities across communities in a shared language. It’s a reclamation. A resistance. A reminder that queerness and gender diversity are not modern inventions—they are as old and diverse as the cultures they come from.

Now, it’s true that not every Indigenous person identifies with the term Two-Spirit. And that’s where nuance matters. If someone from an Indigenous Nation tells you they don’t use the term for themselves, you listen. You adjust your language. Respecting individual identity means being flexible, especially when it comes to something as personal and sacred as gender and sexuality.

But what we don’t do is use those individual preferences to dismiss or discredit the term altogether. That’s not allyship—that’s erasure.

Non-Indigenous people don’t get to decide what is or isn’t valid in Indigenous culture. We don’t get to rewrite history or redefine identity. If we’re serious about decolonization, about inclusion, about solidarity—then it starts with listening. Learning. And stepping back when it’s not our place to speak.

So let this be clear: If you can’t engage respectfully with 2SLGBTQIA+ people—including Two-Spirit folks—this isn’t the space for you.