Website Author: French, Aboriginal and Scottish Ancestry.

To Consider Seriously: At a 2004 conference on suicide a Quebec expert on Aboriginal youth suicide makes a related presentation and does not mention the possibility that Two Spirit Youth are at great risk for suicide. At the end of the presentation he is asked if homosexuality plays a role in Aboriginal youth suicide. His reply: "It plays, big time!" At another 2004 conference - an Aboriginal Injury Conference - in a private conversation - a social worker from a large reservation is asked if homosexuality is implicated in youth suicide on her reservation. She reports that the last two youth suicide victims were Two Spirit male youth. She then explains why this fact was not made public by those who knew that the two suicide victims were Two Spirit. [Something similar was later reported by Rowe in 2006 youth suicide events on another reservation (2008). However, he will omit much of the related information.]

Question: Why are such facts still being swept under the infamous rug? What would be effective "suicide prevention" for at risk Two Spirit youth?

Important: Where are the stories of Two Spirit youth who attempted suicide? When will those who attempted suicide begin to talk and  reveal what were the causes of their distress? When will those who know the stories of Two Spirit youth suicide victims also begin to talk? When will the deafening and deadly silence end? Is it true that... Silence Kills! [Note: Written in 2006. More information then became available as cited below.]

Note: It may NOT be easy for Two-Spirit individuals to be proud of their own kind if they have been abused, emotionally harmed, physically assaulted, etc., because they were deemed to be "different" with respect to their sexual orientation or gender non-conformity. There is maybe nothing worse than often hearing one's own people complain about being abused by others for centuries only because they are "different," as related to 'race'! That is, if any Two-Spirit youth wanted to believe in the possibility of a better wider world, what they have experienced on many reservations or elsewhere can be monumentally depressive and even lethal, as in thinking: "No way for a better world! Even my own people have learned absolutely nothing from centuries of being abused just for being different! They will, in turn, also abuse others just for being different!" (Examples) As told to me by an Aberta Two-Spirit adolescent who was very distressed. I first wrote about this problem in a general way in 1993/94. See: The Additional Problems of GLB of Color. Many will also venture into predominantly white gay communities and become even more depressed! They will experience white gay males often complain about having been abused 'just for being different' but also experience them doing the same to others! See: White Racism in Western Predominantly White Gay Communities.

King et al. (2008). A Systematic Review of Mental Disorder, Suicide, and Deliberate Self Harm in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People. BMC Psychiatry. Online, Aug 18. 8:70. Conclusion of Meta-Analysis: LGB people [mostly white] are at higher risk of mental disorder, suicidal ideation, substance misuse, and deliberate self harm than heterosexual people... lifetime prevalence of suicide attempt was especially high in gay and bisexual men (RR 4.28, CI 2.32, 7.88). Full Text. Full Text. Abstract. Related Alert The Paul et al (2002) results - random sampling of 2,882 American homosexually oriented males in 5 cities - indicates that Aboriginal GB males are about 3-times more at risk for having attempted suicide than white GB males (30% vs. 11%). They therefore may be up to 12 times (could be 10-times) more  at risk for having attempted suicide compared to white heterosexual males.

First Nations & Inuit Suicide Prevention Association of Quebec and Labrador
Are Two Spirit Suicide Issues Being Addressed?

Honouring Life Network (Began in 2008)
Are Two Spirit Suicide Issues Being Addressed?

Andersson N, Ledogar RJ (2008). The CIET Aboriginal Youth Resilience Studies:
14 Years of Capacity  Building and Methods Development in Canada.
Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health 6(2). PDF. Full Text.
Are Two Spirit Suicide Issues Being Addressed? No?

Aboriginal suicide prevention program not working, survey says (2007).
Maybe, Ignoring "Sexual Orientation Issues" Has Not Been Wise?

Maybe Some Hope? A Canadian 2008 Discussion Paper!

Walters KL, et al. (2008). My Body and My Spirit Took Care of Me: Homelessness,
Violence, and Resilience Among American Indian Two-Spirit Men.
In: Health Issues Confronting Minority Men Who Have Sex with Men.
Edited by Sana Loue. New York: Springer. Link to Page 1 Preview. Google Books. Amazon.
Related PowerPoint Presentation: 3.7 megs.

Young, native and gay, filmmaker champions inclusion for all.

Adam Garnet Jones honoured for activism. He is writer/director of "Cloudbreaker" film: a story of young boy who runs away from home on a quest for spiritual enlightenment. It is his story. He battled the loneliness and isolation of being an aboriginal gay youth in rural British Columbia. Film premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim. It is now part of the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Racism. From 2006 Toronto Star Article (Must Scroll): "Making a film about teen suicide may have saved Adam Garnet Jones's life.  At 14, the first video he produced in near-primitive conditions gave him a voice and a sense of being heard for this first time in his life.  Ten years later, the recent graduate from Ryerson University's film studies program has had his first submission to the Toronto International Film Festival chosen to debut in the Short Cuts Canada program. Only 38 films were selected among almost 600 across the country.  "I was a suicidal kid until I was 15," said Garnet Jones,who was raised by a single aboriginal father and struggled with accepting his sexual orientation..."

A place to belong: Two-Spirit movement welcomes discriminated-against native gender-variants.
Two-Spirit Soaring.

Better support needed for Suicide Surfers. - Online suicide support needed:
"Dr Harris said his study involved more than 1000 people from 40 countries, aged from 18 to 74 years. Many had symptoms of depression. The group at the greatest risk of suicide was young gay or bisexual men, because they were in the group least likely to seek face-to-face help from doctors or support services. It led to calls from Dr Harris for support service workers dealing with suicidal people to take a different approach when talking to gay, lesbian and bisexual people..."

Rowe JS (2008). The Wounded Healer: "In February 2006 I found myself on a rickety old plane on my way to a remote fly-in Native reservation community in the far north of Ontario, Canada... The community was one of five that had declared a "state of emergency" due to a recent spate of large numbers of suicides... I had heard by then that many of those who had committed suicide were two-spirit or for simplicity sake, Gay. I have no way of knowing of its accuracy, but being two-spirited and my presence there made it seem likely to me or in either case highly coincidental. The particular reservation I was visiting was staunchly Christian Mennonite and being Gay was violently frowned upon. Apparently those two-spirits who had killed themselves, were, I was told, bullied and shamed relentlessly... What I can share with you upon my arrival there is that I did have an opportunity to be with those youngsters who were in great mourning and to speak with one fellow who was in "hiding". I cannot share much more but upon my departure I did not think the trip to be un-productive..."

Qwo-Li Driskill Q-L (2004) (Author Information) (Google Search Results). Stolen From Our Bodies: First Nations Two-Spirits/Queers and the Journey to a Sovereign Erotic. Studies in American Indian Literatures, 16(2): 50-64. Full Text. Full Text.

The term "Two-Spirit" is a word that resists colonial definitions of who we are. It is an expression of our sexual and gender identities as sovereign from those of white GLBT movements... I have seen no study that tells how many Two-Spirit people commit suicide or turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the shame colonization brings to our sexualities and genders. How many Two-Spirit people are forced to leave their families and thus their primary connection to their traditions because of homophobia and transphobia? How many of us grapple with deep shame because of our sexualities and/or genders? Our sexualities harbor bruises left by a white supremacist culture. We find ourselves despising our bodies and sexualities, unable to speak of our own erotic lives and desires even with our lovers. We see dominant culture's concepts of the erotic and know they have nothing to do with our Two-Spirit bodies, often causing us to dissociate from our erotic selves or assimilate dominant culture's concepts into our lives...

It is in our stories, including our written literatures, that I search for meaning and reflection of my Two-Spirit body in order to survive a world in which people like me are routinely killed. How do I make sense of the murder of F. C. Martinez Jr., a Diné/Cheyenne Nádleeh youth killed in June 2001 in Cortez, Colorado? How do I make sense of the February 2002 murder of Amy/Raymond Soos, a Two-Spirit of the Pima Nation whose naked body was found in Phoenix, Arizona? How do I make sense of the strangled and beaten body of Alejandro Lucero, Hopi Nation, whose body was found on March 4, 2002, also in Phoenix? How do I make sense of the slaughter of "Brandon Teena," always spoken of as white, who was actually of mixed "Sioux" and white ancestry, his life erased by transphobic murderers and his Nativeness erased by white Queer and Trans folks?⁸ How do we as Two-Spirits remain whole and confident in our bodies and in our traditions when loss attempts to smother us? I return to our stories.

8. While he used the names Billy and Brandon, "Brandon Teena" is a name created by activists by switching the first and last names given to Brandon at birth. I learned of Brandon's mixedblood ancestry through an unlikely text, All She Wanted by Aphrodite Jones. The book is widely criticized in Trans communities for its transphobia and sensationalistic "true-crime" style. In a particularly racist passage that at once romanticizes Brandon's Native features and celebrates his light skin and eyes, Jones writes, "Their grandfather on their father's side was a full-blooded Sioux Indian, so Teena . . . was an exotic-looking infant. To JoAnn (Brandon's mother), she almost looked black, even though it was only her hair that was dark. Teena was beautiful, blessed with the bluest Irish eyes" (Jones 29). Besides "Sioux," Brandon's tribal affiliation is not mentioned. All She Wanted is the only book about Brandon's life and murder, and in some ways remains more factual than the highly popular film Boys Don't Cry.

Note 2: A very good way to have American Indian GLBTTs issues NOT addressed is to do what was done in the above noted report: "Report and Recommendations for Enhancing the Well-Being of Native American Youth, Families, and Communities". Only one study related to GLBTTs was mentioned (Balsam et al., 2004) that compared 25 volunteer GLBTTs individuals with 154 heterosexual participants. Therefore, anyone NOT wanting to address related issues will be able to easily argue that the evidence presented does not warrant much concern, and certainly NOT in suicide prevention programs since suicide issues are not mentioned. Yet, a good GLBTTs suicidality summary was available from Fieland et al. (2007),  but only to those who would read books specifically about "sexual minorities" and their health issues. Would many in American Indian communities NOT want to address homosexuality issues? Here is some related evidence from a Los Angeles study: National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among American Indians and Alaska Natives: “Project Native Voices” (2007, Word Download):

"MSM participants voiced concerns that the Native community was being ignored by the HIV community and that a need existed for Native-specific HIV groups. With respect to sexual behaviors, participants felt comfortable discussing sex with other gay friends but stated that the Native straight community would not be comfortable."

More from: Honoring Our Children: Tolerance within the Indian Community by Vivian Arviso (Word Download)

Native people whose gender identify differs are often subject to shaming, a form of social censorship within the tribal community that has survived untouched by European contact.  In rural communities without newspaper or radio service, rumor and gossiping remain the prime methods for communication.  Shame is rendered for inappropriate social behavior, particularly any personal expression for flamboyant dress, mannerisms and especially effeminate behavior among males.  Likewise, shame is given any female whose overt masculine behaviors demonstrate her toughness.  In short, tolerance in a contemporary Indian community over the years has evolved to allow no alternatives for a male or female Indian identity.  Doing so would be considered to bring shame not just on the individual but also negative attention to their family.

As a result of tribal community pressures, young people who have a different sexual orientation often grow up in a closeted existence or actual isolation. This imposed isolation is self-destructive and limits individuals from living to their fullest potential.  In a school environment, many of these young people are subjected to bullying and harassment from their classmates.  In this atmosphere, support is generally unavailable and creates an unsafe environment within the school.  Nonetheless, there are exceptional gay students who somehow endure and who are accepted as equals by their peers.  However, the majority of gay students exhibit behaviors such as skipping school, which affects their academic performance, or simply will become a run away from both home and school...

For the Native LGBT who seeks life in a city for anonymity, the experience can be far more negative than staying within their home community.  Like most natives reared in a tribal community, Native LGBT retain pride in their identity, where they are from and who are their relatives.  Living in a city can unfortunately give a sense of alienation that is both physical and emotional.  Native LGBT individuals often grieve their separation from family and community when they are unaccepted in a city because of their lifestyle as well as being a Native.  This experience results in a double discrimination for Native LGBT instead of the desired anonymity... 

Most tribal and religious leaders who speak at national conferences about the survival of their tribal communities and culture do not acknowledge the Native LGBT within their society.  Ironically, these same leaders seek to reinstitute or revive cultural practices that once strengthened their people.  It is highly unfortunate that the same amount of effort has not been applied to recovering traditions of gender diversity.  As a result, this shunning of gender diversity makes this one of the greatest discriminatory practices among native peoples...

Even More from Walters et al. (2008):

‘‘I know people who were beat with tire irons’’: Violence and trauma experienced by two-spirit men. All of the men identified high levels of violence exposure in childhood and adulthood, either through witnessing violence or directly experiencing a physical assault or rape. One respondent reflected on the high levels of violence experienced in tribal communities, targeting two-spirit people.

We also have a lot of violence, we have a lot of hatred, hate crimes, a lot of self-hatred,  [Indian] people are like oppressing one another and so you get this very high level of tolerance [of violence], it’s like, ok, we’ve got these gay people, these gay people in our communities and. . . I know people who have been beat with tire irons, I know people who have been killed, I know people who, who’s homes have been burned down. . .um, things like that. Dennis ....

I learned hatred here [names city] and I learned about it here. I never knew that back in Oklahoma, but I learned it here. I learned discrimination here, even though we have it back there, it’s a little different, but I learned personal discrimination here. I had people come up and attack me at pow wows here—shove me, try to hit me and stuff, call me faggot and queer, you know? [that] never happened to me back home. Gerry ...

I would hear through the grapevine, through friends of mine who were gay saying did you hear about so and so. . ..they beat him up down at the 49 [after hours pow wow social], and I’d be like really? And I started thinking to myself, who am I to tell them to come out when it would harm them. . .I can’t be around protecting all these people. I protected myself, I could say I’m willing to be out, but I can’t subject anybody to that. Del

“River of Life, Rapids of Change”: Understanding HIV Vulnerability among Two-Spirit Youth who Migrate to Toronto by Doris O’Brien Teengs and Robb Travers (Canadian Journal of Aboriginal Community-Based HIV/AIDS Research, vol 1, 2006). PDF.

“Turbulent Waters” – Why Two-Spirit Youth Migrate to Toronto

Two-spirit youth recounted many reasons for leaving their home communities, including experiencing oppression, violence and anti-gay discrimination. As one young man succinctly stated “the streets are safer than home” and as one key informant stated “homophobia drives youth away from reserves and other communities.” When faced with this unrelenting storm on a daily basis, youth leave because it is an alternative to suicide – an escape rom hopeless situations.

“I was tormented all the way until I was in the ninth grade.” (trans mtf – male to female – youth, 22)

“I moved here because the reserve that I’m from... they’re totally against gay or bisexual people. I lived pretty much my whole life trying to pretend to be straight. I had enough of it.” (male, 19, bisexual)

Parents and siblings were often homophobic, mirroring attitudes present in the broader community.

“I had the worst time coming out of the closet in my reserve. They gay-bashed and everything. My family dropped me... my cousins, my friends... basically I was driven off of the reserve.” (male, 25, gay)

Our Relatives Said: A Wise Practices - Voices of Aboriginal Trans-People (Booklet/Manual - Draft, 2008: PDF):

Trans-people are often targets of acts of violence and discrimination because of appearing ‘different’. Unfortunately, many people react to this difference in insensitive, discriminatory, and sometimes violent ways. Name calling like: “Hey, Drag Queen! You like being a women, eh?” among other derogatory remarks. There is a lot of fear, misunderstanding, and misdirected words which present challenges that Trans-people negotiate every day. Unfortunately, health care, treatment, support, and prevention programs are often challenges to be negotiated too. This booklet is intended to help you think about how you might be better able to accommodate diversity in your own work...

Because Aboriginal Trans-people are often driven from their communities, shunned by their families, and neglected by community organizations, health services, and even law enforcement, they often feel lonely and isolated. Validating the lived experiences of Trans-people creates safe spaces for conversations that foster understanding. Trans-people want to be able to express themselves with a “feeling of community and an everyday sense of pride [in who they are].” ...

Many Trans-people feel disconnected from their communities and cultures, often at a young age. Sometimes they are shunned or made to feel unwelcome by members of their home community. Others are forced to live secret lives. Few Aboriginal Trans-people find tolerance or acceptance in First Nations communities, where they are often ostracized and can experience physical violence...

Conceptualizing Native American Health: The Importance of Historical Context (PowerPoint Presentation) by Jane M. Simoni.

Racism in non-Native LGBT communities

Objectification and eroticization as partners (e.g, NYC Pride float “Native” man)
Denial of admittance to gay bars
Asked for multiple pieces of identification
Invisibility in LGBT settings

Heterosexism in Native communities

Denial of two-spirit existence and history
Same-sex relations is a “white thing”
Shunning or being kicked/harassed out of communities or ceremonies (e.g., Native woman and Sun Dance)
Avoidance of the topic
Cultural beliefs that same-sex relations are sinful, immoral or against traditions (e.g., uninvited to sweat)

Taylor (2006). Nowhere Near Enough: A Needs Assessment of Health and Safety Services for Transgender and Two Spirit People in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. Winnipeg, Manitoba. Internet: http://www.turtleisland.org/healing/transgender.doc . Executive Summary and Download Page: http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=7927 .

The inspiration for these pages stems from an awareness of five interrelated issues:

The Over-Representation of North American Aboriginal Youth in Suicide Statistics.

The Over-Representation of North American Aboriginal Youth in Street Youth Populations

The Likely Over-Representation of Street Youth in Youth Suicide Statistics

The Over-Representation of Sexual Minority Youth* in Street Youth Populations.

The Sexual Minority Youth* Higher Risk for Suicidality in Street Youth Populations.

These issues were first presented as support information for a Workshop given by Professor Richard Ramsay at the October 2006 CASP (Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention) Conference in Toronto. To access the basics of the workshop information handout follow this "Workshop Title" link:


As an important part of the workshop support information, an Information Folder on North American Aboriginal Two Spirit Suicidality was developed. It has the following sections:

Aboriginal GBTT-s Males Are More At Risk For Suicidality Than Other Aboriginal Males & White GBT Males.

American Indian Male (Female) Suicidality: A Higher Risk For Having Attempted Suicide.

American Indian / First Nations Male/Female Youth Suicide Rates: A Higher Risk for Suicide.

Information Excerpts on Terms Such as "Two Spirit" - "Two Spirited" - "Berdache" - "Winkte" - "Nadleeh" - etc.

North American Aboriginal / American Indian / First Nations GLBT-s Internet Resources.

Aboriginal & Sexual Minority Over-Representation In Street Youth Population.  Higher Suicidality Risk For Street Youth. Highest Suicidality Risk for Sexual Minority Street Youth.

Vancouver's MSM Vanguard Cohort, Montreal's MSM Omega Cohort & Vancouver's VIDUS Cohort (Injection Drug Users): Aboriginal & Sexual Orientation Related Results... Suicidality, Sexual Abuse, Sex Trade...

Conference: Native American and Indigenous Studies 2008 (PDF): “Who Are We? Where Are We Going?” Five Two-Spirit related presentations:

“Indigenous Fantasies and Sovereign Erotics: Outland Cherokees Write Two-Spirit Nations” by Lisa Tatonetti, Kansas State University

“Queer Ayetl’: Cherokee GLBTQ/Two-Spirit People and the Reimagining of Nation” by Qwo-Li Driskill, Michigan State University

“American Indian Cultural Conservative Homophobia, Cultural Compromise and Two-Spirit Men” by Brian Joseph Gilley, University of Vermont

“Locating ‘Settler Sexuality’: Queer Politics, Cultural Citizenship and Appropriations of Two-Spirit” by Scott Morgensen, Macalester College

“Decolonizing the Queer Native Body: Bringing ‘Sexy Back’ and Out of the Native Studies’Closet” by Chris Finley, University of Michigan

Aboriginal Two Spirit / Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (TsGLBT) lives, however, are also related to GLBT issues most often talked about in western societies in general: those related to White GLBT individuals and, to a lesser extent, 'race'/ethnic sexual minority groups commonly referred to as GLBT People of Color. One of the issues affecting GLBTTs people of color has been the White Racism documented to exist in Predominantly White GLBT Communities. A folder of related information that was first located at the University of Southampton from 2000 to 2003, and later/presently housed at "Gay / Bisexual Male Suicide Problems," is reproduced herein as:

Major Worldwide GLBTQ Information Sections:

• The Bisexual, Gay, Queer Suicidality Information Pages