Two-Spirit: Meaning, Indigenous Identity, Gender, Culture, and Sexuality

Two-Spirit does not simply mean “an Indigenous LGBTQ+ person.” It may express a relationship with:

• an Indigenous nation or community;
• cultural teachings;
• traditional or contemporary gender roles;
• spiritual responsibilities;
• sexuality;
• family and community service;
• resistance to colonial ideas about gender.

Simple examples include:

• A Two-Spirit person may also identify as transgender.
• A Two-Spirit person may use a nation-specific identity term.
• A gay Indigenous person is not automatically Two-Spirit.
• A non-Indigenous person should not identify as Two-Spirit.
• A Two-Spirit identity may involve community and cultural responsibilities as well as gender or sexuality.

The individual and their Indigenous community determine what Two-Spirit means in their particular context.

• a Two-Spirit person;
• several Two-Spirit people;
• identify as Two-Spirit.

It may also function as an adjective:

• Two-Spirit identity;
• Two-Spirit community;
• Two-Spirit traditions;
• Two-Spirit leadership;
• Two-Spirit people.

Examples include:

• They identify as Two-Spirit.
• The organization supports Two-Spirit youth.
• She discussed her Two-Spirit identity with trusted relatives.

Because the term is culturally specific, it should not be used as a general synonym for transgender, non-binary, gay, or queer.

Capitalization and Abbreviation

Two-Spirit is commonly capitalized to recognize it as a distinct Indigenous cultural term.

Common shortened forms include:

• 2S;
• 2Spirit;
• Two Spirit.

The abbreviation often appears at the beginning of inclusive expressions such as 2SLGBTQ+, emphasizing the specific place of Two-Spirit people within Indigenous contexts.

The term is connected to the Anishinaabemowin expression niizh manidoowag, often explained in English as “two spirits.” However, the English phrase should not be treated as a literal universal description of every Two-Spirit person.

The modern term creates shared language across communities, but it does not replace the distinct words and teachings of individual Indigenous nations.

Different nations may have their own terms for people whose:

• gender differs from expected roles;
• social responsibilities cross gender categories;
• sexuality has cultural meaning;
• spiritual role is connected to gender diversity;
• community position cannot be described through Western labels.

Some people prefer a nation-specific term rather than Two-Spirit. Others use both.

Respectful education should not combine hundreds of Indigenous cultures into one universal tradition. The Native Governance Center’s Two-Spirit leadership resource emphasizes that Two-Spirit identities and roles must be understood through Indigenous cultures, communities, and sovereignty.

A Two-Spirit person may also identify as:

• lesbian;
• gay;
• bisexual;
• transgender;
• non-binary;
• queer;
• asexual;
• another identity.

However, a Two-Spirit person may feel that Western labels describe only part of their experience.

Two-Spirit can connect gender and sexuality with ancestry, culture, spirituality, family, land, nationhood, and community responsibilities.

Two-Spirit is an Indigenous cultural term that may include gender identity but may also involve sexuality, social roles, spirituality, leadership, or service.

Some Two-Spirit people are transgender. Others are cisgender, non-binary, gender-diverse, or use only Two-Spirit.

Therefore:

• not every Two-Spirit person is transgender;
• not every Indigenous transgender person is Two-Spirit;
• non-Indigenous transgender people are not Two-Spirit.

The person’s chosen identity language should be respected.

Some Two-Spirit people also identify as non-binary because their gender falls outside a woman–man division. Others identify fully as women or men while using Two-Spirit to describe cultural, spiritual, or sexual aspects of themselves.

Two-Spirit should not be defined simply as the Indigenous version of non-binary. That comparison removes its cultural and community-based meaning.

A Two-Spirit person may be attracted to:

• women;
• men;
• non-binary people;
• people of several genders;
• no one sexually;
• people in ways described through nation-specific teachings.

The term may include sexuality for some individuals, but it may focus more strongly on gender, culture, spirituality, or social responsibilities for others.

Intersex and Two-Spirit are different concepts.

An intersex Indigenous person may identify as Two-Spirit, but being intersex does not automatically make someone Two-Spirit. Similarly, a Two-Spirit person does not necessarily have intersex traits.

One term concerns physical sex characteristics, while the other is a culturally specific Indigenous identity or community framework.

These roles were not identical across nations, and not every historical gender-diverse person should automatically be given the modern label Two-Spirit. The Indian Health Service overview of Two-Spirit people notes the wide variation among Indigenous cultures and their gender-related traditions.

A contemporary Two-Spirit person may or may not hold a traditional, spiritual, or ceremonial role.

Colonial authorities, missionaries, government agents, and residential or boarding-school systems often:

• punished gender diversity;
• suppressed Indigenous languages;
• separated children from their cultures;
• imposed Western clothing and gender roles;
• condemned same-gender relationships;
• disrupted ceremonial traditions.

As a result, knowledge about some identities and community roles was hidden, changed, or lost. Contemporary Two-Spirit movements may therefore involve cultural recovery, decolonization, community healing, and renewed connection with Indigenous traditions.

The word has origins associated with sexual servitude and was imposed broadly on people from many different nations. It is now widely regarded as inaccurate, offensive, and disrespectful.

Two-Spirit was adopted partly to move away from this imposed terminology.

The older word may still appear in historical documents, but it should not be used as a modern identity label.

A person may prefer Indigiqueer because:

• Two-Spirit does not match their cultural teachings;
• they do not hold a Two-Spirit social or spiritual role;
• they want to combine Indigenous and queer identities;
• the term better expresses their personal experience.

Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer may overlap, but neither should be imposed on someone who has not chosen it.

• she/her;
• he/him;
• they/them;
• mixed pronouns;
• pronouns from an Indigenous language;
• another chosen set.

The term Two-Spirit does not reveal someone’s pronouns, anatomy, clothing, or preferred relationship terms.

When unsure, use the person’s name or respectfully ask how they wish to be addressed.

• using Two-Spirit only for Indigenous people who claim it;
• capitalizing the term when appropriate;
• respecting nation-specific identities;
• avoiding assumptions about anatomy or sexuality;
• using correct names and pronouns;
• protecting private cultural and personal information;
• listening to Indigenous Two-Spirit voices.

Non-Indigenous people may discuss or support Two-Spirit communities, but they should not claim the identity for themselves.

Every Indigenous LGBTQ+ person is Two-Spirit.
Two-Spirit is a chosen identity and does not apply automatically.

Two-Spirit is another word for transgender.
The identities may overlap, but Two-Spirit has distinct cultural, social, and spiritual meanings.

Non-Indigenous people can identify as Two-Spirit.
The term is specifically connected to Indigenous peoples and cultures of North America.

Every Two-Spirit person has a ceremonial role.
Roles and traditions differ by person, nation, and community.

Two-Spirit is an ancient English term.
The English term was adopted in 1990, although the diverse Indigenous identities and traditions it may represent are much older.

1. Two-Spirit is a culturally specific term used by some Indigenous people.
2. A Two-Spirit person may also identify as transgender, gay, non-binary, or queer.
3. Does every Indigenous LGBTQ+ person identify as Two-Spirit?
4. A non-Indigenous person should not claim Two-Spirit as a personal identity.
5. The Two-Spirit speaker explained that the term involved culture and community as well as gender.
6. A Two-Spirit person may prefer a nation-specific identity term.
7. The organization placed Two-Spirit first in the abbreviation 2SLGBTQ+.
8. The Two-Spirit participant asked others not to make assumptions about their pronouns.
9. Colonial policies disrupted many traditions connected to Two-Spirit people.
10. Respecting a Two-Spirit identity requires attention to Indigenous culture, sovereignty, language, and self-identification.

A Two-Spirit person may have any anatomy, pronouns, relationship style, or pattern of attraction. The identity cannot be understood accurately when separated from Indigenous cultures, communities, histories, and sovereignty.

Accurate sexuality education avoids turning Two-Spirit into a Western label for gay, transgender, or non-binary people. It respects self-identification, nation-specific teachings, cultural privacy, and the authority of Indigenous people to define their own genders, sexualities, and community roles.