Two-Spirit Oral Histories

The stories of Two-Spirit people have been mostly absent from history owing to white settler colonization and discrimination within communities, including within Indigenous and LGBTQ+ communities. The creation of oral histories provides an opportunity for Two-Spirit people to share their lived experiences and allows for Two-Spirit stories to be recorded for future generations. The Two-Spirit Archives has initiated an oral history program that has completed two phases of interviews thus far with plans to facilitate additional phases in the future. These stories will help to provide source material for new histories, research, and creative works about Two-Spirit people, and they may also assist young people who are struggling to come to terms with being Two-Spirited through these examples.

The first phase of Two-Spirit oral histories was developed by Two-Spirited People of Manitoba Inc., the University of Winnipeg Archives, the Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg, and supported in part through the financial contributions of the Government of Canada and the Manitoba Department of Sport, Culture and Heritage. The oral history collection was donated to the University Archives in 2018 as an accrual to the Two-Spirited People of Manitoba Inc. fonds.

The interviews were conducted by individuals who identify as Two-Spirit, or those who are knowledgeable and culturally aware of being Two-Spirited. Interviewers received training in conducting oral history interviews through the Oral History Centre. Interviews were conducted during the 31st International Two-Spirit Gathering at the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre near Beausejour, Manitoba on August 3-6, 2018. Interview questions included asking folks to share their experiences at Two-Spirit Gatherings, any rites of passage they have experienced as a Two-Spirit person, how being Two-Spirited has changed their lives, what they think future generations of Two-Spirit people will experience, and how their home and adopted communities responded to them.

The second phase of oral histories was developed by the University of Winnipeg Archives, with the support and training of the Oral History Centre, the administrative support of the University of Winnipeg Foundation, and the financial support of the Winnipeg Foundation through a One-Time Community Grant. These interviews were conducted in 2022 and processed as the Two-Spirit Oral History Collection.

This phase of interviews focused on local Two-Spirit Elders and/or Knowledge-Keepers. Indigenous interviewers were trained in the life-story methodology of oral history and allowed interviewees the freedom to discuss aspects of their lives that were of importance to them.

Interviews from both phases have been transcribed, indexed, and summarized. Most interviews have been made publicly accessible at the links below. Transcriptions and indexes have been synced with the interview recordings for ease of access using the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS). Interviews listed below that do not link to a publicly accessible interview are available for listening in the University of Winnipeg Archives reading room. Copyright to the first phase of interviews is retained by the Two-Spirited People of Manitoba, Inc., while the University of Winnipeg retains copyright for the second phase of interviews. The Two-Spirit oral histories are managed by the University Archives as a component of its stewardship responsibilities for the collection.

18.29-01BU: Interview with Ryan Buffalo

18.29-02CH: Interview with Ma-Nee Chacaby

18.29-03CO: Interview with Maariu Costa

18.29-05DO: Interview with T. Sharp Dopler

18.29-06DU: Interview with Joshua Dunn

18.29-07KE: Interview with kēr

18.29-08LA: Interview with Monique LaPlante

18.29-09MO: Interview with Albert Beck

18.29-10PR: Interview with Gayle Pruden

18.29-11SY: Interview with Theo Syrette

18.29-12TA: Interview with Vanessa Tait

22.14-01OL: Interview with Lorne Olson