It’s traditional in North America, whether you like it or not,” said Brokenleg.īrokenleg acknowledges that this way of looking a gender and sexuality might be attractive to some members of the broader LGBT community, but he discourages them from mimicking it. “People always say (traditional) marriage is between a man and a woman… and I laugh when I hear that, because traditionally in my community, and many other communities, we had what you would call gay marriage way back before colonization ever came. In his mind, “traditional marriage” includes couples of the same sex, who may or may not even be considered gay by Western standards. And then on top of that, they might have a go-between, who is not meant to fill any one of those other places concretely.”īrokenleg said he has trouble relating to the current national debate over same-sex marriage that has been a significant rallying point within the LGBT community. “Being Winkte is both my sexual orientation and my gender,” said Brokenleg. “Some communities might have up to six different genders … standard male and female, and then they might have a male-bodied female and a female-bodied male, on top of that they might have what we would consider a gay or a lesbian. Western conceptions of gender and sexuality also often don’t match some Native American views, he said. I can’t be gay and Indian … For many people, I think the LGBT community is the white male LGBT community and (that) doesn’t always allow other folks into it.” “In the gay community, I feel like I can only be gay. “The LGBT community often is a microcosm of the larger community, so there is racism and sexism and all of those things,” he said. “So, I think for a long time, some of those things were suppressed in our culture along with many of our language and cultural rights.”īrokenleg also hasn’t found unconditional acceptance within the broader western LGBT community. “I think with boarding schools, and a lot of the colonization and historical trauma, there’s also (now) homophobia that exists in Indian country, too,” said Brokenleg. He blames the homophobia that exists in the community largely on the influence of Western European colonization. His father kicked him out of the house when he discovered Brokenleg was gay.

While his grandparents encouraged him, he hasn’t always been supported within the Native American community. That’s what ended up helping me in my process.” I thought they told all my cousins these stories, but they only told them one or two stories and I got told many stories. “They told me stories about how Winkte were to behave and act.

“I was raised by my grandparents,” said Brokenleg. His family began preparing him to come into his role from a young age. “So, if someone asks you to pray for them, if they ask you to come be an MC at an event, that’s your responsibility to come and do that.” “It’s really more of a servant leadership,” said Isaiah. “Often, they were used as the translators or people who helped to build conciliation when there was conflict.”Īlthough Winkte serve an important role in his community, he said that it’s not meant to be a position of power. “I think a lot of times, they were the healers and the counselors of the community because they could understand these different perspectives,” said Brokenleg. In English, they are often referred to as “two-spirit people.”Īccording to Brokenleg - who himself is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, a branch of the Lakota people - the term comes from the idea of a person walking between two worlds: masculine and feminine, natural and supernatural. While Winkte is a Lakota word, these kinds of leaders exist within Native American communities across the continent. Traditionally, Winkte take on special spiritual or leadership roles, like naming young children, resolving disputes or praying for the sick. “Winkte,” in the Lakota language, literally means “a male-bodied person who speaks like a woman.” It refers to what most North Americans would call gay or transgender people. “Coming in is more about realizing that you are in this role as a Winkte, learning about what that role means, and then coming into your community to fulfill your social and spiritual responsibility,” said Brokenleg. Don’t ask Isaiah Brokenleg what his coming-out experience was like His was a “coming-in” experience.

One spirit native