When participants in the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirit Powwow danced, sang, and drummed recently they were following ancient traditions. They were also making history.
The powwow was the first to include non-gendered dances and a third gender head dancer.
Most powwows have a program of dances in men's and women's categories and two head dancers, a man and a woman. But BAAITS worked with community leaders to develop a program for the February 7 event that followed strict powwow protocol while doing away with gender binaries in the dances.
"They've been very correct in their protocol," said L. Frank Manriquez, co-emcee at the powwow. "BAAITS is trying very, very hard to really give the two-spirit community something very real, something their own."
Now in its fourth year, the BAAITS powwow remains the only public powwow in the world organized by and devoted to people who identify as two-spirit, an umbrella term that represents the honored roles of people of diverse genders and sexualities present in the traditions of almost every Native American culture.
"Removing the categories of this is for men, this is for women �" we've been doing that all our lives," said Michelle Zamora, lead singer with the BAAITS Drum. "We're making new traditions. It's hard sometimes. It's frightening. It's judged. But we can't be anything but ourselves."
The BAAITS Drum meets twice a month, and is the most frequent program BAAITS holds. The drag troupe Brush Arbor Gurlz grew from BAAITS, and the group also holds potlucks and other social gatherings.
The annual powwow is its largest event. This year, the event filled the 48,000 square foot South Hall of the Cow Palace, with more than 2,000 in attendance.
"How do you explain people getting in their cars and driving down from British Columbia to our event? Trying to hitch a ride from Saskatoon?" said Aidan Dunn, powwow co-chair. His answer: "It fills a need."
Indigenous cultures everywhere have traditions that acknowledge and embrace diverse genders and sexualities. The term two-spirit refers specifically to queer Native identities in North America.
But repression of Native religions and language has led to the loss of knowledge about various two-spirit identities in many Native American tribes.
"Boarding schools sought to keep Natives from practicing their religion and speaking their language," said Jenny Davis, head woman dancer at the powwow and an assistant professor in the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Illinois-Champagne Urbana. "Dropping traditional practices goes hand in hand with not being able to speak the language."
Today, "A lot of two-spirit folks are separated from their communities because of prejudice," said Zamora. "When we come together in the arena in a good way, it's like coming home."
Participants praised the powwow's diversity.
"The announcement of non-gendered categories is great. Then having the third head dancer, that's something unique. It's never happened before. That's stepping in the right direction," said Coy McLemore, co-emcee at this year's powwow and a singer with the drum group Southern Pride, which traveled from Jay, Oklahoma for this year's event.
Last weekend also marked the 40th anniversary of Gay American Indians, whose members celebrated February 6 with a potluck, dances, and an appearance by gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who presented GAI founder Randy Burns with a certificate of recognition.
The next day, Burns was at the powwow, along with several other members of GAI.
"I'm thankful to BAAITS for carrying on the work for two-spirits here in the Bay Area," Burns said.