Calls made for national recognition of Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ Celebration and Awareness Day

Vancouver’s Two-Spirit community is calling for the national recognition of Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ Celebration and Awareness Day.

Lane Bonertz, Two-Spirit program lead at the Community Based Research Centre, says the movement means a lot to Two-Spirit people.

“Two-Spirit is really a way of identifying and seeing ourselves as Indigenous people. It’s a word that’s meant to refer specifically to Indigenous people, and that can be our sexual orientation, our gender identity, both, or neither,” Bonertz said.

March 19 has been proclaimed Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ Celebration and Awareness Day by the Government of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver.

Tuesday marked the third time it has been observed in Vancouver. Now, there’s a push for the day to be celebrated Canada-wide each year during the Spring equinox — a time to amplify the voices of those who identify as Two-Spirit.

Members of the Two-Spirit community say the push for the celebration to be recognized nationally is specifically a call for government officials and political leaders to see and respect them.

“For me, it’s funny to come back here culturally, full circle, because I was here in the nineties, back in the day,” said Larissa Healey, a grass dancer at Tuesday’s celebration.

“I’m an example of, ‘You can be that change.’ And the reason I came back full force is I was a Sixties Scoop, so during the pandemic, I got a letter from the federal government apologizing for apprehending me as a child.”

Spencer Chandra Herbert, MLA for Vancouver-West End and Deputy Speaker of Legislature, says the day is critical for recognition.

“For those politicians who are trading in anti-trans politics, it’s much harder to do if you actually see trans people as people. If you see Two-Spirit people as people,” Herbert said.

“And that’s what today is. To say, ‘No more hate, love our neighbours, and let’s be here to support each other.'”

Bonertz says a lot of people can be fearful of what they don’t know.

“There is a lot of movements of hate, discrimination,” Bonertz said.

“This is really an opportunity and invitation to learn a little bit more about who we are, experiences, and where we come from … to hopefully bridge that gap.”