Violent Victimization and HIV Among the Native LBGT/Two Spirit Community

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Violent Victimization and HIVAmong the
NativeLBGT/Two Spirit Community

• Presented By
• Elton Naswood, Project Coordinator
• Red Circle Project, AIDS Project Los Angeles
• 10th National Indian Nations Conference
• Justice for Victims of Crime
• Palm Springs, CA December 8, 2006

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Violent Victimization and HIV Among theNative
LBGT/Two Spirit Community

• Curriculum developed and written by Elton Naswood
  and Sandi Pierce.
• Originally presented at the American
  Indian/Alaska Native Victim Assistance Academy
  Pilot Training in August 2005 at the Fond du Lac
  Tribal Community College in Cloquet, MN.
• Funded by grant to Tribal Law and Policy
  Institute by the Office of Victims of Crime
  (OVC), US Department of Justice.
• Also, presented at Native Peoples of North
  America HIV/AIDS Conference in May 2006 in
  Anchorage, AK and received national media
  attention on Victimization issues.

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Two Spirit Definition

• Two Spirit term refers to Native American/Alaskan
  Native Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT)
  individuals
• Came from the Anishinabe language.
• It means having both female and male spirits
  within one person.
• Has a different meaning in different communities.

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History of Two Spirits

• Encompassing term used is Two Spirit adopted in
  1990 at the 3rd International Native Gay
  Lesbian Gathering in Winnipeg, Canada.
• The term is used in rural and urban communities
  to describe the re-claiming of their traditional
  identity and roles.
• The term refer to culturally prescribed spiritual
  and social roles however, the term is not
  applicable to all tribes.

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Tribal Language and Two Spirit Terminology
Tribe Term Gender
Crow boté male
Navajo nádleehí male and female
Lakota winkte male
Zuni lhamana male
Omaha mexoga male
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Spirituality and Culture

• Alternative gender roles were respected and
  honored and believed to part of the sacred web of
  life and society.
• Lakota view Wintkes are sacred people whose
  androgynous nature is an inborn character trait
  or the result of a vision.
• Example Lakota Naming Ceremony
• For many tribes, myths revealed that two-spirit
  were decreed to exist by deities or were among
  the panethon of gods.
• Example Navajo Creation Story The Separation
  of Sexes

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LGBT/Two Spirit Umbrella
Transgender
Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Two Spirit
A woman whose enduring physical, romantic,
emotional and/or spiritual attraction is to other
women.
A term for people whose gender identity and/or
gender expression differs form the sex they were
assigned at birth.
An individual who is physically, romantically,
emotionally and/or spiritually attracted to men
and women
A man whose enduring physical, romantic,
emotional and/or spiritual attraction is to other
men
A contemporary term used to identify Native
American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
individuals with traditional and cultural
understandings of gender roles and identity.
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Fred Martinez, Jr.

• She was a 16-year-old Navajo Transgender.
• Her friends adored her.
• Had he been born a woman, one teacher said,
  hed have been the most popular girl in town.
• The 19-year-old killer assaulted Martinez and
  crushed her skull with a rock, sliced open her
  abdomen, and left her to die by the side of the
  road.

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Fred Martinez, Jr.

• Later, the killer bragged to friends, I
  bug-smashed a hoto. Hoto is Spanish slang for
  faggot.
• Freds mother learned the details of her sons
  autopsy not from the district attorneys office,
  but from the newspaper.
• She filed a formal Request of Enforcement of
  Compliance, saying her rights as a crime victim
  to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity,
  and to be informed and present for all critical
  stages of the criminal justice process, had been
  violated

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Federal Bureau Investigations (FBI)Statistics
(1998, most recent)

• Of all hate crimes reported for 1998, 16.2 were
  motivated by sexual orientation bias
• Of those, 67 were specifically against gay men
  and 18 were against lesbians
• The remaining 15 were motivated by more than one
  bias (such as both race and sexual orientation)

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Hate Speech

• Verbal harassmentunwanted, intrusive words or
  gestures designed to put the person down or make
  them feel unsafe
• Includes name-calling, hang-up phone calls,
  anonymous notes or mail, and physical gestures
• Can be a warning sign of impending violence
• Considered a bias-motivated incident not a hate
  crime but still a threatshould be reported to
  police anyway, and should be defined as such on
  the report

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Screening for Hate Crimes

• If the victim describes her/himself as
  Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
  or says they are questioning their sexuality, be
  sure to ask if the person said anything about
  their sexual orientation during the assault.
• If the assault appears to be motivated by
  anti-LGBTQ bias, report it as a hate crime

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Domestic Violence Against Two-Spirits

• It is estimated that 15-20 of gay male
  relationships involve domestic violence
• Several studies of lesbian relationships have
  found that 40-50 involve violence
• A survey of transgender and intersex individuals
  found that 50 had been raped or assaulted by
  their partners

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Myths about Two-Spirit Domestic Violence

• Abusers are usually bigger, stronger, or more
  butch than their partners
• LGTBQ victims can easily leave abusive partners
  because they have no legal ties to them
• Transgender people wouldnt get hurt if they
  didnt dress or try to act like something theyre
  not

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Unique Types of Abuse

• Threatening to out the victim
• Reinforcing victims fears that no one will help
  her/him because of sexual orientation
• Justifying abuse by claiming that the victim is
  not a real Two-Spirit person because s(he)
  previously had an opposite-sex relationship
• Claiming that the violence is consensual,
  especially if the victim defends her/himself

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Threats of HIV/AIDS

• If the abused partner has HIV/AIDS, the abuser
  may threaten to tell others disclosure.
• The HIV-positive partner will suggest abuse if
  the relationship ends.
• The abuser may withhold, dispose, or hid
  partners HIV medication and other needs.
• The abuser may take advantage of the HIV-positive
  partners economic affairs.
• Physical violence is potent as HIV-positive
  victims can not defend themselves or may fear
  complications from bruising, infections or slow
  healing may result.
• An HIV-positive abuse may threaten to infect a
  partner.

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Legal Protections

• A search of Tribal Codes found none addressing
  hate crimes
• There are no federal protections for hate crimes
  based on sexual orientation
• State law may be the best protection, in
  communities where the state has jurisdiction
• Currently, Navajo LBGT have organized a group
  Dine Rainbow Coalition to strategize on Tribal
  Hate Crime legislation.

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Remember Poem

• RememberWe are here to listen,Not to work
  miracles.We are here to help victims discover
  What they are feelingNot to make the feelings
  go away.We are here to help victims identify
  their options.Not to decide for them what they
  should do.We are here to discuss steps with
  them.Not to take steps for them.We are here to
  help victims discover they can help
  themselvesNot to rescue them leaving them still
  vulnerable.
  
  ----Anonymous

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• May the Creator Always Guide and Protect You as
  You Walk In Beauty . . .
• Ahehee (Thank you)
• The Red Circle Project
• AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA)
• 3550 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 300
• Los Angeles, CA 90010
• Telephone [phone]
• Email enaswood_at_apla.org
• Website www.redcircleproject.org