“From the onset of colonization until well into the present, the discourse and histories of Two-Spirit Indigenous peoples remains a puzzle for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike. Reclaiming Two-Spirits will help you solve that puzzle. Using familiar and obscure stories, Smithers skillfully reveals the centrality of Two-Spirit struggles within the matrix of settler colonial domination and the Indigenous struggle for freedom. He reveals the destructive nature of colonial violence and the possibilities of a Two-Spirit future. An original contribution to Indigenous cultural and intellectual histories, an understanding of the links between language and power, and Indigenous futures, this book will not only educate your mind, but will also touch your spirit.” —Kyle T. Mays (Black/Saginaw Chippewa), author of An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States

“Smithers’s Reclaiming Two-Spiritscompels readers to rethink gender and sexuality from the nonbinary point of view of Indigenous cultures, which uses gender-neutral and polyvalent words to express an array of identities. Smithers recovers the Two-Spirits who lie hidden beneath the homophobic language of archival records, obliging not only historians but everyone who cares about Indigenous peoples to be more aware of gender biases and how language is a tool of colonization.” —David Martínez (Akimel O’odham/Hia Ced O’odham/Mexican), author of Life of the Indigenous Mind

“Lost teachings are found in this compelling revelation on the complexity of Two-Spirit people. Based on chronicles of Native culture and historical documents, as well as oral histories and interviews, Reclaiming Two-Spirits offers an understanding of how Two-Spirit gives balance in a binary world. A reminder to everyone to have more empathy and compassion.” —Lynette Allston, chief of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia

“Gregory D. Smithers’s Reclaiming Two-Spirits sheds welcome light on the deeply misunderstood topic of how Native Americans with diverse sexual and gender identities relate to both their native cultures and the settler societies—they embrace traditional roles that are often disavowed in their native cultures due to the legacy of colonialism, while at the same time resisting conflation with LGBT identities of Eurocentric origin. Smithers’ obvious sympathy for his subject, along with his cogent scholarship, engaging storytelling, and lucid prose, makes the complexly contested space that Two-Spirit people occupy accessible and understandable to general audiences of Natives and settlers alike.” —Susan Stryker, author of Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution, and founding co-editor, TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly