Rebecca Lynn is a Two Spirit artist from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, in Harbor Springs, MI. She studied sociology at the University of Michigan and is currently the owner and beader of QueerKwe Designs. Becca’s work aims to create representation for LGBTQ+ & Two Spirit indigenous folks by combining modern pride flags into her traditional beadwork. You can check out her work and mission on Instagram, @queerkwe, and Facebook, QueerKwe Designs.

This lecture will explore the complexities of gender and sexuality within Native American communities and the ways these views continue to be impacted by colonization efforts. Traditionally fluid and accepting nations were forced to conform to rigid, Western binaries through assimilation tactics, such as compulsory Christianity and Native American Boarding Schools. Today, LGBTQ2S+ and gender non conforming Indigenous people are reclaiming their space and traditionally sacred roles within their communities. Join us in learning about the emergence of Two Spirit identity, a contemporary term created to reject colonial binaries and embrace traditionally fluid ideas of gender and sexuality within our Native American communities.