"We Are Everywhere": Two-Spirit People and the Reclaiming of a Deep Past
Join Professor Greg Smithers to open new insights into histories of gender diversity and sexual fluidity in Native America. In 1990, a small group of Indigenous people left the Third Annual Gathering of Gay and Lesbian Indians in a buoyant mood. They had just concluded a conference in which they had coined a new name for themselves—Two-Spirit—and felt the tide of history turning in their favor. "We are everywhere," one delegate announced jubiliently. But what did it mean to be Two-Spirit? How did this moment, at the height of the HIV-AIDS pandemic, open new insights into histories of gender diversity and sexual fluidity in Indian Country? As we'll see, the 1990 gathering at Winnipeg became a portal into deep time and to vast repositories of historical knowledge once thought irretrievably lost.
Other Experiences
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Tour: Arboretum Central Historic Area
Learn about some of Colonial Williamsburg's most asked-about trees, how the colonists used them, and why they continue to be important today.
CW Admission
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Special Event: Lights of Freedom
Celebrate the words and music of the American Revolution, culminating in a grand fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. above the Governor's Palace.
Open to the Public
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Presentation: The Powder Magazine's Modern History
This talk, exploring the period from 1889 to present, will examine the more recent preservation and interpretation history of the Magazine.
Art Museums Admission