Winkte (also spelled wintke) is an old Lakota word, "Winyanktehca," that has been contracted through long use. Its meaning is "two-souls-person," or more directly, "to be as a woman" and applies to male-bodied individuals. It generally refers to someone who is either homosexual or transgender (i.e. male-bodied humans who do not conform to the ordinary man's gender role). The winkte are not marginalized, but rather, they are considered to be people with special spiritual and other talents that fulfill some needs of the community that other people could not fill.
Unlike traditional societies, a matrilineal society often recognizes quite openly, the third gender....this can mean many things, men, women who act as their counterpart, or love the same sex, or act in the ways of the opposite gender or possess both sides of the face.....
Often these people within tribal society are great holy people, as they walk between worlds, and can see the world as no others can, they maybe in a same sex relationship, or have found another twin-soul that walks a more traditional way...in Japanese culture we would call these people, ones who could carry both the sword and the fan....
In tribal culture they often times did the naming of people as they could see into the unseen...much more easier, they could defend and care for the people no matter what body they dwelt in.
Unlike traditional societies, a matrilineal society often recognizes quite openly, the third gender....this can mean many things, men, women who act as their counterpart, or love the same sex, or act in the ways of the opposite gender or possess both sides of the face.....
Often these people within tribal society are great holy people, as they walk between worlds, and can see the world as no others can, they maybe in a same sex relationship, or have found another twin-soul that walks a more traditional way...in Japanese culture we would call these people, ones who could carry both the sword and the fan....
In tribal culture they often times did the naming of people as they could see into the unseen...much more easier, they could defend and care for the people no matter what body they dwelt in.
TWO-SPIRIT PEOPLE
LGBT Native American and First Nation
Two-Spirit is an umbrella term sometimes used by Native American and Canadian First Nation communities to refer to those who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles.
Two-Spirit people are generally defined as LGBT and gender-variant members of the Native American/First Nation communities. Many contemporary LGBT North American indigenous or aboriginal people use the term “Two-Spirit” to maintain cultural continuity with their traditions.
In many cultures, some individuals possessed and manifested a balance of both feminine and masculine energies, making them inherently sacred people. Third gender roles historically embodied by Two-Spirit people include performing work and wearing clothes associated with both men and women.
The presence of two-spirits was a fundamental institution among most tribal peoples. Male and female two-spirits have been documented in over 150 tribes, in every region of North America, serving specific duties, including men fulfilling women’s roles, women fulfilling men’s roles, and importantly, Two-Spirit individuals contributing as spiritual leaders.
It is documented in academic literature that many American Indian cultures honored and respected alternative sexual lifestyles and gender roles, which the Two-Spirit movement is attempting to recover. A complex sex/gender system was found in every region of the continent, among every type of Native culture, from the small bands of hunters in Alaska to the populous, hierarchical city-states in Florida. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender orientations were honored and often coincided with healing and shamanic practices.
LGBT Native American and First Nation
Two-Spirit is an umbrella term sometimes used by Native American and Canadian First Nation communities to refer to those who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles.
Two-Spirit people are generally defined as LGBT and gender-variant members of the Native American/First Nation communities. Many contemporary LGBT North American indigenous or aboriginal people use the term “Two-Spirit” to maintain cultural continuity with their traditions.
In many cultures, some individuals possessed and manifested a balance of both feminine and masculine energies, making them inherently sacred people. Third gender roles historically embodied by Two-Spirit people include performing work and wearing clothes associated with both men and women.
The presence of two-spirits was a fundamental institution among most tribal peoples. Male and female two-spirits have been documented in over 150 tribes, in every region of North America, serving specific duties, including men fulfilling women’s roles, women fulfilling men’s roles, and importantly, Two-Spirit individuals contributing as spiritual leaders.
It is documented in academic literature that many American Indian cultures honored and respected alternative sexual lifestyles and gender roles, which the Two-Spirit movement is attempting to recover. A complex sex/gender system was found in every region of the continent, among every type of Native culture, from the small bands of hunters in Alaska to the populous, hierarchical city-states in Florida. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender orientations were honored and often coincided with healing and shamanic practices.