#native lgbtq

”The Navajo Nation gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit community will host the largest Indigenous Pride in the country in it’s sovereign capital - Window Rock, Arizona - from June 28-29, 2019.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City, all planned events will acknowledge the lifelong work of transgender women of color and honor Indigenous youth activism.

Organizers from Diné Pride have announced a monumental two-day celebration that includes a Diné Transgender Visibility Symposium, Welcome Reception with Queer Showcase, a rainbow lighting of the Navajo Nation Council Chamber, 5K Color Run, a Pride Festival at the Window Rock Veterans Memorial Park with many national headliners, and an After-Party hosted by nationally-renowned Galaxy DJs in Gallup, New Mexico.

Community members selected the theme: Diyingo ‘Adánitsiiskees – I am a sacred being – because all gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit Diné relatives are sacred and should find pride in who they are.” 

“In a small town in rural, indigenous Mexico, there exists a third gender known as muxe (sometimes spelled muxhe) among the Zapotec peoples. Considered neither male nor female, rather somewhere in-between like the hijras of India, muxes are (broadly speaking) biologically male but dress and act in ways typically associated with females. Here’s a brief history of Mexico’s third gender. 

Believed to have originated from the Spanish term for ‘woman’ (mujer), muxes are predominantly found in communities around the Isthmus of Oaxaca, where tolerance towards people identifying with this third gender is generally higher than in many other parts of Mexico. Sadly, however, contrary to popular belief, discrimination is still alive and kicking. In other regions, muxes are sometimes known by other names, like biza’ah.”

Read the full piece here