Do you know any iconic native american gay couples?
In order to answer this question I must include some background
Many “two spirit” people, (also known as Winkte in the Lakota), a term that has been used for gay and trans Natives for hundreds of years but was officially adopted in 1990 at an Indigenous lesbian and gay international gathering, unfortunately were mostly never recorded, as in the words of George Catlin, a painter and traveler in the 1700s-1800s, that the Two Spirit tradition among Native Americans “Must be extinguished before it can be more fully recorded.”
This prejudice from the settlers and “missionaries” resulted in most record and oral tellings of this tradition being destroyed or lost, however a few remain. By the early 1900s, Most, if not all tribes had been influenced by European prejudices. That is, until movements began again in the 1990s.
One infamous person perpetrating this, of course, was Christopher Columbus, as when he, and I quote, “encountered the Two Spirit people, he and his crew threw them into pits with their war dogs and were torn limb from limb. The inhuman treatment Christians offered was only the beginning of the Native American holocaust.” or in other terms, genocide.
As for historically famous two-spirit couples, I cannot find any that were recorded, or that I know of, however there are a few famous Two-Spirited people, two of which I will list here. (will make a future post listing more.)
First, was We'wha, a Zuni lhamana, a traditional Zuni gender role, now described as mixed-gender or Two-Spirit. She was dubbed as a “princess” by media in the late 1800s, and mingled with politicians and worked with anthropologists and charity. It was considered a “scandal” when she was “found out” to be a “man” as the media said, and made an uproar within D.C at the time. She was said to be “one of the tallest and, according to Stevenson, strongest members of her tribe.“ A true icon.
Second, was Osh-Tisch, a Crow badé. Badé being “a male-bodied person in a Crow community who lives in the social role of woman in that culture.” Osch-Tisch lived in the late 1800s as well, fighting in the “1876 Battle of the Rosebud, as recounted by Pretty Shield.”, a famous native medicine woman. As for what they went through, I quote, “The elders also told the story of former B.I.A. agents who tried to repeatedly force him [Osh-Tisch] to wear men’s clothing, but the other Indians protested against this, saying it was against his nature. Joe Medicine Crow told Williams: “One agent in the late 1890’s…tried to interfere with Osh-Tisch, who was the most respected Badé. The agent incarcerated the Badés, cut off their hair, made them wear men’s clothing. He forced them to do manual labor, planting these trees that you see here on the B.I.A. grounds. The people were so upset with this that Chief Pretty Eagle came into Crow agency and told the agent to leave the reservation. It was a tragedy, trying to change them.”
I am aware these are trans historic icons, to put in laymans terms, (as there is more of a spiritual and ritualistic meaning to two-spirits than just LGBT, traditionally) but as for gay historic icons, there are none I can find.
More modern-day icons, however, there is only one I know of and can find information about, one who a 2009 movie/documentary Two Spirits was centered around. Fred Martinez, a Navajo trans girl, who was murdered at the age of 16 for being so, by a man “who bragged to his friends that he ‘bug-smashed a fag’. ” This man was subsequently arrested of course, but still will not erase the tragedy he caused.
So, in answering your question, no, there are no famous gay native couples I can find or know of, but there is quite a lot of history on the subject of LGBT natives from all tribes, and is definitely worth looking into and researching. If any of you know of any, feel free to let me know, but for now this is the best answer I can give!
Thank you for your question.