Two Spirit: A Spiritual Identity and a Reclamation

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Available Summary:

Two-Spirit Nebraskan Tyler LaMere discusses spirituality, culture, and family in an in-depth video conversation..

-YouTube.

Jack's Summary:

Hucpiga, who is from Winnebago and belongs to the Mille Lacs Ojibwe tribe, is interviewed about life, art, and identity.

Remarking on the nature of being Two-Spirit, Hucpiga explains, "One thing that really gets on my nerves is that people just say that, "Two-Spirit is just Native American non-binary," or, "Two-Spirit is just a way of saying Native American transgender," when it's so much more than that. It's a whole spiritual identity as well as a cultural one. It's a reclamation from being a survivor of genocide. There's a sacredness that not other LGBTQ people would understand."

Regarding Hucpiga's last point, I take exception to the broad generalisation that no other LGBTQ people understand having such a cultural, spiritual gender identity. Brotherboys and Sistergirls, in the land now known as Australia, have a very similar experience to what Hucpiga describes, including belonging to a culture which survived mass-killings, ethnic cleansing, and cultural genocide. While I understand the point that is being made, it is a continent-limited perspective which is exclusionary of other First Peoples.

Obviously, this interview may have been conducted with a local/limited audience in mind, I don't know the prompt Hucpiga might've been responding to, and he may have not intended to exclude Brotherboys and Sistergirls in this way. But, for what it's worth, there absolutely are LGBTQ people who do not use the label Two-Spirit, and yet do have a very similar lived experience of sacredness and cultural survivorship.

Moving on, Hucpiga explains, "The Mille Lacs Ojibwe is where the origin for Two-Spirit comes from, because they believe that two spirits exist in one body; the masculine and the feminine. In the Winnebago tribe, we have specific identities when it comes to Wakikanak, which is what I identify with, which means, "stand like a man." Those born in a woman's body, but take on the roles of men and have a man's spirit." Hucpiga describes exploring the term non-binary but, as he learned more about his culture, he felt more connected to "the binary trans male roles."

Unfortunately, he has faced disgust and hatred from both Native and LGBTQ people due to his identity. "I don't conform to what a trans man should look like," he says, "I keep my hair long for my culture, I love doing makeup, I don't necessarily dress masculine or feel uncomfortable enough about my body. And, when it comes to Natives, they don't like when I try to engage in masculine terms, or don't necessarily respect my identity." These experiences are similar to struggles described in Transblack, with Aboriginal Brotherboy Max seeking approval from Elders to perform male roles in his community, and being denied because he is judged to be not male enough, despite the "boy spirit" he embodies.

Hucpiga proceeds to describe being outed, relieved by the support he received afterwards, and the comfort which prayer rituals provide. He cites Native American activist and politician Frank Lamere as having had a significant, positive impact on his life, and on the lives of people he loves.

Note from Jack:

According to his Instagram account in 2026, Hucpiga uses they/them, he/him, and she/her pronouns.