Queer Gender and Sexuality in Indigenous Language Revitalization
Abstract The status of Indigenous languages and queer, trans, and Two-Spirit Indigenous people in North America are closely linked. As colonial policies of forced assimilation reduced the number of speakers of Indigenous languages, once highly visible roles for Two-Spirit people were likewise eroded...
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| Format: | Book Part |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press
2022
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190212926.013.76 https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/42645/chapter/388335325 |
| Summary: | Abstract The status of Indigenous languages and queer, trans, and Two-Spirit Indigenous people in North America are closely linked. As colonial policies of forced assimilation reduced the number of speakers of Indigenous languages, once highly visible roles for Two-Spirit people were likewise eroded. Since the 1970s, movements of language revitalization have also been intertwined with movements to reclaim Two-Spirit roles in Indigenous communities. This chapter uses examples from Anishinaabe communities to examine language usage of Two-Spirit people as a form of linguistic creativity. This creativity, which is more complex than simply recovering words used in the past, indicates the centrality of gender and sexuality to practices of language revitalization. |
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