Exploring what it means to be Two-Spirited

Nipissing University Aboriginal Services and Programs along with the Campus Women's Centre Play host to athlete activist Percy Lezard, as Guest Speaker on the topic of Two-Spirited People.

Lezard, of the Wolf Clan from Okanogan First Nation, will talk to students and faculty about what it means to be Two-Spirited, and will share her experiences, both personal and professional in a presentation, "We are Part of a Tradition: Exploring What It Means to be Two-Spirited".

Organisers say that in many cultures before the arrival of Europeans to North America, the term Two-Spirited referred to an ancient teaching.

“Elders tell us of people who were gifted among all beings because they carried two spirits: that of male and female. These individuals were looked upon as a third gender in many cases and in almost all cultures they were honoured and revered...Today, Two-Spirited people are Native people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, other gendered, third/fourth gendered individuals that walk carefully between the worlds and between genders,” Doe O’Brien, 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nation, brochure.

The lecture will take place Tuesday March 18th at 4:30PM in room A227 at Nipissing University.