Changing Ones : Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America

by Roscoe, Will

• ISBN13: 9780312224790
• ISBN10: 0312224796
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-17
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Will Roscoe documents one of the most widespread and least-known aspects of native North America. In many Native American tribal societies, it was not uncommon for some men to live as women and some women to live as men. In this land, the original America, men who wore women's clothes and did women's work became artists, ambassadors, and religious leaders, and women sometimes became warriors, hunters, and even chiefs. Same-sex marriages flourished. Berdaches -- individuals who combine male and female social roles with traits unique to their status as a third gender -- have been documented in over 150 North American tribes. By looking at this aspect of non-Western culture, Roscoe challenges the basis of the dualistic way most Americans think about sexuality, and shakes the foundation of the way we understand and define gender.

Author Biography

Will Roscoe is an award-winning author who publishes widely on Native American sexuality and gender. He lives in San Francisco.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables	vi
Foreword	vii
Randy Burns
Part I
``Strange Country This'': An Introduction to North American Gender Diversity	3	(20)
``That Is My Road'': The Life and Times of a Third Gender Warrior	23	(16)
The One Who Is Changing: Hastiin Klah and the Navajo Nadleehi Tradition	39	(28)
Warrior Women and Women Chiefs: Alternative Identities and Genders for Native Women	67	(32)
Two-Spirit People: Gay American Indians Today	99	(20)
Part II
Gender without Sex: Toward a Theory of Gender Diversity	119	(18)
Dreams of Power: Third and Fourth Genders in Yuman Culture and History	137	(30)
Close Encounters: A Model of Native Survivance	167	(22)
Narratives of Domination or the Cant of Conquest?: Competing Views of Alternative Genders	189	(12)
Conclusion: The Past and Future of Gender Diversity	201	(12)
Glossary of Native Terms for Alternative Gender Roles and Sexuality by Language Family	213	(10)
Tribal Index of Alternative Gender Roles and Sexuality	223	(26)
Notes	249	(28)
Bibliography of Native Lesbian/Gay Literature	277	(2)
Bibliography	279	(32)
Acknowledgments	311	(2)
Index	313