Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ advocates brace for changes under Trump

Indigenous people who advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ communities are questioning how their rights may change under the Trump administration in the U.S. 

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order that the United States will recognize only two sexes, male and female, that are unchangeable. 

Alex Wilson from Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba, an activist for queer, transgender, and two-spirit rights, said she sees growing anti-transgender sentiments brewing south of the border.

"It's a cycle that happens when there's policy that allows for the continuation of violence or that kind of condones it, then we see people picking it up and acting out those behaviours," Wilson said.

"They're not acknowledging that there is a gender diversity or even sexual diversity. And we're seeing that trickle over here, too." 

Wilson sees these policies as a danger to Indigenous sovereignty.

"It negates the reality that we have had many genders, not just two, three, but many understandings of gender and many sexualities in our nations since the beginning. And it's even part of some of our creation stories."

Montana bill ruled unconstitutional

David Herrera, co-founder and executive director of the Montana Two Spirit Society, is of Mestizo and adopted Blackfeet background and an advocate and educator for 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

In 2023, the Montana Two Spirit Society along with members of the transgender, intersex community filed a lawsuit in Missoula County District Court challenging Montana Senate Bill 458, which would define "male" and "female" as binary based on the presence of XY or XX chromosomes.

They argued it would infringe on the rights of members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, as well as the cultural and spiritual importance of two-spirit people. Last month, the plaintiffs won and the bill was declared unconstitutional. 

"It's definitely part of the colonization that has occurred and the attempt to erase the two-spirit culture," said Herrera.

He said policies like these are nothing new and have played a culturally detrimental part in colonial history that has tried to erase Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ identities.

"We are not going to go away. We are going to continue," said Herrera.

Charlie Amáyá Scott grew up in the Navajo Nation and now works as an educator focusing on what it means to be queer, trans, and Indigenous. 

"I think what I'm seeing within my community is that there is a lot of fear of what this really means in the long run," Scott said.

"There's a lot of fear of the violence that could occur, whether it's being detained at the borders, whether it's being questioned about who you really are or whether it's you're being arrested, which all of that specifically would lead to incarceration."

Her focus is ensuring that people and their stories are protected.

"If I'm being quite frank, my concern is about myself right now and has been about my community ensuring their survival. I have been really focused on ensuring that my trans siblings and my relatives, whether they're two-spirit or part of the LGBTQ community, survives," said Scott.