RiverWay Counseling

04/24/2025

04/24/2025

03/31/2025

Two-Spirit or Indigiq***r? 🤔

This Transgender Day of Visibility, we are honoring our Two-Spirit, transgender, and gender nonconforming Native relatives by taking a closer look at two terms for Indigenous people whose gender and sexual identities fall outside of the traditional Western binary. 🏳️‍⚧️ ✨

The term “Two-Spirit” was adopted in 1990 at the 3rd Annual Native American Gay and Le***an Gathering in Winnipeg. Though it is an umbrella term for Indigenous LGBTQ+ people, it’s important to remember that Two-Spirit cannot replace the diverse and nuanced vocabulary that exists within Native languages. There are hundreds of Indigenous nations and languages in North America, and each has its own concepts regarding gender and sexuality.

Indigenous filmmaker TJ Cuthand (Cree) coined the term “Indigiq***r” as a title for a program he curated at the Vancouver Q***r Film Festival in 2004. In a blog post in 2017, he said that he had created it as an alternative to two-spirit because some people were uncomfortable with its implications of binary gender. He also liked the term “q***r” for its confrontational nature and history of reclamation, and enjoyed the idea of combining that with the history of resistance within Indigenous identity.

Identity is inherently an individual and unique experience, so finding one term to describe a community will always be a challenge. Because many Indigenous cultures’ ideas of gender are multidimensional and complex, while Western ideas of gender are traditionally binary, direct translation between the two loses some context and nuance.

At Native Americans in Philanthropy, we strongly believe in the right to self-determination, which includes respecting our relatives’ identities. In our current era of increasing attacks on transgender and q***r people, it is imperative that we stand purposefully in solidarity with all our relatives, and give full dignity and respect to ALL Native peoples.

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01/29/2025

❤️❄️❤️Christine…from a member..

01/29/2025

President Trump has signed Laken Riley Act into law. The law sets a dangerous precedent - it makes the mere accusation of a crime a deportable offense. Read NASW's Social Work Blog to find out why NASW opposes this law: https://tinyurl.com/ywbduv6f

09/28/2024

New Hotline Message! A message of care recorded under a blanket.

We Will Rest!

Call: 1-833-LUV-NAPS (588-6277)

📸Photo from our sound and projection art installation in Melbourne, Australia August 2023 with

09/28/2024

988 Fact: It’s OK to not say who you are or where you are when you call, text or chat 988. The 988 Lifeline is here for you.

03/15/2024

Let’s give it up for social workers❤️💕