Awareness
Each year around the spring equinox, communities across Canada observe Two-Spirit and Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ Celebration and Awareness Day. Held on or near March 20, the day highlights the leadership, resilience and cultural importance of Indigenous people who identify as Two-Spirit and within the broader 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
The spring equinox symbolizes balance and renewal, making it a meaningful moment to recognize identities rooted in both cultural tradition and contemporary community life.
For many Canadians, the term Two-Spirit may still be unfamiliar. Understanding the identity also means understanding a history shaped by colonial disruption and a powerful movement of cultural resurgence.
What “Two-Spirit” means
The term Two-Spirit was proposed in 1990 by Elder Myra Laramee during the Third Annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference held at the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre. The term is a translation of the Anishinaabemowin phrase niizh manidoowag, meaning “two spirits.”
Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ participants adopted the term to describe gender and sexual diversity within Indigenous cultural frameworks. It also helped move away from colonial terminology historically used to describe Indigenous gender diversity and created language rooted in Indigenous perspectives.
Two-Spirit is not simply another identity within the broader 2SLGBTQIA+ community. It is an Indigenous-specific concept that connects gender, sexuality, spirituality and community roles.
The term may be used by Indigenous people who understand themselves as carrying both masculine and feminine spirits, or who embody forms of gender diversity recognized within their own cultural traditions. As an umbrella concept, it can include identities that Western frameworks might describe as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or gender diverse.
It is also important to recognize that not all Indigenous gender-diverse people identify as Two-Spirit. Some people may use other terms, including identities drawn from their own languages or cultural traditions.
Gender diversity before colonization
Before colonization, many Indigenous nations across North America recognized and respected people whose identities or roles existed outside rigid European gender categories.
In some communities, individuals who carried both masculine and feminine spirits were understood to have special gifts. They often held respected positions in their communities as healers, mediators, counsellors, artists, knowledge keepers or matchmakers.
Two-Spirit individuals were frequently seen as people who could move between roles associated with men and women, contributing to community life in unique and valued ways.
Different Indigenous nations have distinct traditions and teachings related to gender and identity, meaning that understandings of gender diversity vary widely between communities.
Colonization and the erasure of gender diversity
European colonization disrupted many Indigenous traditions, including diverse understandings of gender and sexuality.
Missionaries and colonial governments imposed strict European gender norms and Christian moral frameworks. Institutions such as residential schools reinforced these beliefs and punished expressions of gender diversity.
Colonial authorities also condemned Indigenous gender diversity and often attempted to erase these identities through violence, forced assimilation and cultural suppression.
Over time, many teachings about gender roles and identities were pushed underground. These policies created lasting impacts and contributed to the marginalization of Two-Spirit people both within and outside Indigenous communities.
The rise of the two-spirit movement
In the late twentieth century, Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ people began organizing to reclaim space within both Indigenous and queer communities.
The 1990 conference at the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre, where the term Two-Spirit was introduced, marked an important turning point. The term helped create shared language for Indigenous gender and sexual diversity and strengthened connections among activists and community members across North America.
Since then, Two-Spirit societies and community organizations have formed in many regions of Canada. These groups support cultural revitalization, community healing and advocacy for Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
The growing recognition of Two-Spirit and Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ Celebration and Awareness Day, first promoted nationally in 2021, reflects increasing awareness of the important role Two-Spirit people continue to play within Indigenous communities.
A time to learn and celebrate
For many communities, the spring equinox observance is both a celebration and a reminder of ongoing work.
Two-Spirit leaders, artists and knowledge keepers continue to strengthen communities and reclaim cultural teachings that were once suppressed. Their work reflects a broader movement of Indigenous resurgence and cultural renewal.
Recognizing this day invites Canadians to learn more about the history, resilience and leadership of Two-Spirit people across the country.
