'We’re celebrating the community to heal it': Phoenix Indian Center's Two Spirit Powwow returns since pandemic

Dancers of all ages donning traditional Native dress and rhythmically moving to the booming beat of hide drums permeated the lawn at South Mountain Community College on Saturday at the third annual Two Spirit Powwow.

Vendors selling colorful handcrafted Indigenous goods and booths representing LGBTQ+ non-profits and Native community resources lined the outskirts of the South Lawn while spectators formed a wide circle to watch the Grand Entry and Color Guard, the long-standing kickoff to Powwow gatherings.

The Phoenix Indian Center joined forces with PFLAG, a national non-profit dedicated to advocating for an equitable LGBTQ+ nation, to host the Powwow with the intent of honoring Native LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people and Indigenous teachings of acceptance and respect.

"It’s really important for us as a Native community to celebrate the Two Spirit relatives that we have because there just hasn’t been very much in terms of celebrating this community," said Micheon Gorman, Director of Development for the Phoenix Indian Center.

Gorman said many Indigenous tribes acknowledge more than two genders and consider Two Spirit and LGBTQ people to be integral members of the Native community. Historically, tribes have considered their Two Spirit members to be holy people, often working as healers, mediators and peacekeepers, according to Gorman.

Recognizing the adversity the Two Spirit LGBTQ+ community faces in terms of gender and sexual identity and as Indigenous people was at the heart of the celebration, Gorman said.

Part of that recognition meant breaking down the binary gender divisions of standard Contest Powwows by creating an inclusive space that focused on non-binary contest categories instead. Saturday's Powwow spectators could observe dancers in age groups ranging from six years old to adults.

For Sheila Lopez, the founder of the Two Spirit Powwow and the Native PFLAG chapter, the Powwow's mission of uplifting the Indigenous LGBTQ community is a personal one.

"I became an LGBTQ ally and supporter after my two oldest children came out as gay in 2009," Lopez said. "Before that I had no understanding of the community and my children educated me."

After her children encouraged her to get involved in PFLAG, Lopez founded the non-profit's Native chapter to support Indigenous families with LGBTQ members. The chapter collaborated with Salt River Love and Gila River Hope to provide Native LGBTQ community support throughout Arizona.

The Native PFLAG chapter, with Lopez at the helm, secured a grant from the Phoenix Pride Community to host the first Two Spirit Powwow in 2019. Lopez sought support from the Phoenix Indian Center to coordinate the event at a time when resources in the Valley that celebrated the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit Community were few and far between.

Lopez drew on her own Navajo heritage when founding the Two Spirit Powwows, adding that keeping the Navajo tribe's recognition of four genders and non-binary teachings of acceptance alive was an important part of Saturday's event.

"Unfortunately with colonization and religion, we lost those teachings," Lopez said. "But we haven’t lost them totally, they’re here today at this gathering. We’re celebrating the community to heal it and show our support."

Gorman called Lopez a lone leader, saying the mother did lots of heavy lifting for the Indigenous LGBTQ+ community in the early days of the Native PFLAG chapter.

Lopez has since been forced to shut down the Native PFLAG chapter due to a lack of staffing and trouble finding willing leaders. The chapter gave $14,000 to the Phoenix Indian Center upon its closure at the end of 2020 to ensure the Two-Spirit Powwow's would continue.

Vendors provided Native LGBTQ+ Community Resources

Amongst the sea of white tents providing shade to non-profit and community resource booths at Saturday's Powwow was a vibrant neon sign that read 'Free Mom Hugs.'

According to the organization's Arizona leader Shannon Black, the Free Mom Hugs sign was indicative of the non-profit's mission to empower the world to celebrate the LGBTQ+ ability through visibility, education and conversation.

Part of that empowerment, Black said, was giving out hugs and high-fives at Pride events across the Valley. When asked how many hugs the non-profit volunteers give out in a day, Black said she couldn't even count, but estimated the number to be anywhere from the tens to the hundreds.

Just a stone's throw away from the Free Mom Hugs booth was Equality Maricopa, a resource group focused on LGBTQ+ students across Maricpa Community Colleges.

Equality Maricopa was raising awareness of an LGBTQ+ Arizona license plate that, if passed by the state legislature, would help to establish permanent funding for the organization's PRISM Scholarship, a fund dedicated to helping queer and trans students access higher education.

"We’re looking for a permanent funding source to keep the scholarship account going so we can award more students," said Erick Tanchez Jr., President of Equality Maricopa.

Tanchez said hundreds of trans and queer students apply for the PRISM scholarship, but Equality Maricopa only has enough funding to award two students at a time. The license plate could help provide scholarships to more students, but the organization will first need to raise $32,000 to create the plate and have it cleared by next year's state legislature.

In addition to the Native LGBTQ+ non-profit booths at Saturday's Powwow, Pueblo Family Physicians sent a mobile outreach unit to provide free and rapid HIV and Viral Hepatitis testing, along with sexual health and harm reduction education.

The third annual Two Spirit Powwow concluded in a special Two Spirit LGBTQ+ acknowledgment dance and a final blessing.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Indian Center's Two Spirit Powwow returns since pandemic