Sitting Bull (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Sitting Bull, or Ta-Tanka I-Yotank, was the great Sioux leader and warrior who helped defeat General George Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

One of Sitting Bull’s five wives was a "two-spirit“ man. Virtually all American Indian tribes had a tradition of "two-spirits,“ homosexual males assuming the roles of women, and women assuming the roles of men, in work, sex, and social functions. Indians revered the two-spirit, typically an effeminate man or masculine woman who did not fit into standard gender roles. Two-spirits were treated as sacred and held ceremonial roles as psychic healers, medicine men, prophets, and shamans.

European settlers repressed the tradition and it went underground, reemerging after the rebirth of Indian culture and the rise of gay liberation in the 1970s.

Stern, Keith. Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals. Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.

Further Readings:

Two Spirits: A Story of Life With the Navajo by Walter L. Williams and Toby Johnson
Paperback: 332 pages
Publisher: Lethe Press (June 12, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1590210603
ISBN-13: 978-1590210604
Amazon: Two Spirits: A Story of Life With the Navajo

Twenty years after publishing his groundbreaking The Spirit and the Flesh, anthropologist Walter L. Williams breaks his silence and publishes another book on Native Americans by teaming up with award-winning writer Toby Johnson. Together they have produced a work of historical fiction that is striking in its evocation of Navajo philosophy and spirituality.
Set in the Civil War era of the 1860s, this novel tells the story of a feckless Virginian who finds himself captivated by a Two-Spirit male highly respected among the Navajo. It is a story of tragedy, oppression, and discrimination, but also an enlightening story of love, discovery, and beauty.

Two Spirits illuminates the truth of what the United States did to the largest indigenous people of this nation. Full of suspense, plot twists, and endearing romance, this novel will captivate readers.

Comments

[bluebear2.livejournal.com]

I went to school on the plains and there were many natives in my class who lived on reservations. One day, one of the native guys showed up for class with a single pony tail on the top of his head. The teacher thought he was just being goofy and said that as his punishment for showing up for class that way was he had to wear it that way all day. The guy laughed and said "sure".
Years later I find out that a single pony tail on the top was a sign of a shaman to his people. Who knows what he was to his people back home.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

they have a lot of ancient traditions and I'd love for them to be able to respect them. maybe that teacher, having Native American students, should have tried to learn some of them, in the end, wearing a single ponytail was not harming anyone.