MISSOULA — “Being a Two-Spirit, it's just taking back our culture,” said Renee Hawley, a board member for the Montana Two Spirit Society.
The sound of drums filled the air at Caras Park on Friday, celebrating Two Spirit Pride with the Two Spirit Pow Wow. And besides Pride, there was also the celebration of existence.
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“We were pretty colonized back in the day. And a lot of the colonizers said, you know, there's no Two Spirits. There's only a masculine and a feminine. Well, to me, Two Spirit is taking back, taking it back. I'm not a male. I'm not a female. I'm both. You know, there's many spectrums to gender,” said Hawley.
People from all backgrounds gathered under the canopy, trying to avoid the rain that lasted throughout the event.
Dancing, games and prizes were some of the festivities to be had at the Two Spirit Pow Wow.
But for people like Hawley, the first-ever Two Spirit Pow Wow was a place of belonging.
“I feel so, I don't know, like a relief. I feel like I belong. You know what I'm saying? I feel visible now. I feel seen and I just want to share it with all the spectators, all the non-indigenous people that, hey, we're here and we've always been here. We're back and we're not going anywhere,” said Hawley.
