‘An important part of the fabric’: Exploring Two Spirit identity with artist Charli Fool Bear

CATHY WURZER: Pride Month-- many folks around the state are reminded or learning for the first time that gender and sexuality is a spectrum that goes beyond the traditional LGBTQ+ umbrella term. One identity that often gets misrepresented or even left out entirely is two-spirit, an identity unique to Indigenous people.

Here to share what her two-spirit identity means to her is Charli Fool Bear, a two-spirit Dakota writer and the senior artistic producer for New Native Theatre in Minneapolis. Charli, welcome.

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: Hi, Cathy. Thank you for having me.

CATHY WURZER: And thanks for taking the time. I'm thinking folks who might not know would hear the word two-spirit and think, oh, she's bisexual. But that's not what we're talking about, right? Can you explain to people what two-spirit means?

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: Yeah, so two-spirit is a-- well, it's become a pan-Indian term. Specifically, the original two-spirit term is tied specifically to the Ojibwe people. But over time, other Indigenous folks have adopted it as a way of reclaiming our traditional views of gender and sexuality.

So depending on what tribe you're talking to, the general consensus is that a two-spirit person contains the spirit of both men and women-- a man and woman in them and therefore are capable of playing special roles in their community, capable of connecting with their community on a larger level, able to imbibe whatever the community needs at that time.

So yeah, it varies. Like I said, each tribe had their own views on gender and sexuality, their own roles and parts they played in their societies. But in general, it's someone who feels they have the male and female spirit in them.

CATHY WURZER: It sounds as though it's obviously beyond gender or sexual identity to more of a spiritual identity?

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: Yes, for sure. At least for me, that is what differentiates my two-spiritedness from, for example, my pansexuality. I consider them separate things because two-spiritedness is spiritual. It's connected implicitly to being a Dakota woman for me, to being a Dakota person.

CATHY WURZER: What does it feel like to be two-spirit? If that sounds like a strange question, I'm sorry. But I always think in terms of emotional feelings or how it feels in a body. Can you help me out here?

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: Yeah, for sure. For me, as I was getting older and figuring out what my identity was, the feeling that set it apart from my other feelings around queerness was I just felt a brotherhood with men along with a very strong connection to being a Native woman. That's always been a very proud part of my identity.

For me, the feeling is sort of a brotherhood with whoever I meet and an ability to connect with them. And it also-- it does feel a little isolating. In Dakota society, winktes, the two-spirits, in many tribes, they didn't live in the camp. They had these special roles, and they were very revered. But they were, in many ways, separate. And so that's also part of it.

There's a bit of a loneliness, is a feeling that I feel with being two-spiritedness, but also a real beauty because-- especially now, there are so many people who are able to be open with who they are and discover who they are. And you get to build a community and build a little family. So there's balance for sure in all of the feelings involved.

CATHY WURZER: You kind of touched on this a little bit about the larger cultural role that two-spirit folks play, and I'm wondering if you could expand on that a little bit, about the roles, maybe going back to the very beginning.

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: For sure.

CATHY WURZER: Yeah. Versus now.

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: So again, depending on which tribe you're talking to-- I'll talk about the things I know. But I know that in many societies, two-spirit people were-- they were in charge of child care. They taught children many different skills related to the roles they're playing in their tribe. They were also sometimes mediators in conflict, in marriage. They are storytellers, keepers of history and culture.

And in many ways, we're said to have a connection to Creator and the spirit world and so served that purpose as well. And now those roles are what helped me come to terms with my identity because I found that as a two-spirit person, I was naturally good at helping people in a certain way, which was advising, helping with children, keeping stories. Those roles have translated into today's world.

CATHY WURZER: I was just going to ask you about the storyteller part of you because obviously you are, and you're in theater. And did that help you realize, to kind of underscore the discovery of your identity?

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: It definitely did. When I was growing up, I wrote about all kinds of different people. I mean, I was-- I had a very kind of typical experience with gender where because I was insecure about my masculinity, I became super feminine. But in my writing, I was constantly writing about young men or even like grandmothers, people that I couldn't necessarily relate to, but I felt a deep connection with and wanted to write about.

And to this day, you see that a lot in my work, is I write about a lot of young men, like angry young men, or older people or patriarchs. I've always had a real connection with them, negative and positive. And I think as a storyteller, it's always been influenced by that before I even knew that was a part of who I was.

CATHY WURZER: Let's talk about two-spirit folks being represented during Pride Month. How has that worked out? I mean, do you feel that you've been recognized enough for who you are during Pride?

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: The honest answer is probably no. It's probably not yet. But the reality is, is that it's a very small population of a very small population. But it's a very important part of the fabric of America. And so I think it should definitely be more present in the minds of people during Pride, especially here on Dakota land. This area is so sacred to the Dakota. So the two-spirits here, I think, should have a bigger place in the presence of Pride.

CATHY WURZER: See, before you go, you have to tell us about the two-spirit powwow that's coming up.

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: Yes. So the New Native Theatre is very proud to put on a two-spirit powwow in Minneapolis every summer. This is our third annual reclaiming our identities two-spirit powwow. It'll be on July 13 at South High School, and that'll start around 10:30.

And it's a celebration. A powwow is a social dance. And this is a way for us to give space to these two-spirit community members and honor them and have fun and give them a place in a activity that is so ingrained in Native American culture but hasn't really made space for two-spirits yet in this modern day.

And so it's really special that we're able to provide a space where anyone can dance whatever dance they want, these gendered dances. It's a sober space. People are fed. And everyone's welcome, no matter who you are, what your identity is. We'd love to keep two-spirit people in visibility outside of Pride Month.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Well, I wish you well with that. And thank you so much for talking with us.

CHARLI FOOL BEAR: Thank you, Cathy. It's been awesome.

CATHY WURZER: That was Charli Fool Bear, a two-spirit Dakota storyteller. Again, that two-spirit powwow hosted by New Native Theatre, July 13 at Minneapolis South High School.