[–] 2 points 2 days ago (1 child)

It's used to replace other terms that were/are being used, but the term itself was made by first nation people.

So, because the term was coined by people to refer to themselves, it's not really a colonial term, even if it's often used in place of other "colonial terms".

Also, the old terms used to describe the non-eurocentric gender/sexual roles often. had roots in words from the language of one of the first nations, they were just being applied to multiple groups from multiple languages, and sometimes the root they used was for something like a prostitute.

Like everything else, it's messy and complicated l, and basically any answer is at least a little bit wrong.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 days ago (3 children)

    Starting with, I am not two-spirit, I just know some people who are.

    So, here are some random points

    At one point it was used to describe, in English, non-euro-centric gender roles that exist within many of the Canadian First Nation tribes. Previous words (often used by non-native people) to describe those roles would often just be slurs. It's one term to try to describe something in many different cultures. It is an English-Language term, not a traditional native one.

    There are hundreds of recognised tribes in North America, with many different belief systems and cultures. Trying to lump them together as one is kinda like saying the ever country in Europe is the same. So, the term is kinda hard to pin down, and it also doesn't apply to every tribe.

    It very-specifically does not mean that you have the spirit of a woman and the spirit of a man.

    Its meaning has expanded, and I've seen it used catch-all for LGBTQ+ by native people, often as a way to reject the idea that they need to fit into euro-centric cultural boxes. I also know that some people refuse to use it, because they feel it's something that is sometimes pushed onto them by outside sources (aka, well-intentioned white people), or it doesn't really fit into the historic cultural beliefs of the tribe they are from, or they just don't want to use it.
    (see also "Native American" vs "First Nations" vs "Indian")

    Something important: It is not an identity you can have if you are not from one of the tribes who lands are within the current Canadian or United States boarders.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago

    Daniel Smith's first name.

    Since Marlaina decided that people under 16 can't go by anything other than their legal first name without parental permission in schools, many people will call her by her legal first name until they see her permission slip.

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  • [–] 31 points 1 month ago

    You go to a physical store and buy a toilet plunger.

    That might seem like a waste of money, but getting a cheap plunger at a dollar store is going to be much less stress than figuring out places to go to the bathroom.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    The animatratonics night teach the bears that humans are nothing to be scared of, causing a rise in bear attacks in the future.

    Or, the bear remains hungry from not being able to scavenge, which also increases the bear attack risk.

    Humans love to use "licking chapped lips" approach to problems

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    I mean, this is the same Trinity Western that wasn't allowed to open up a law school because they are garbage, right?

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trinity-western-supreme-court-decision-1.4707240

    They only started to consider dropping their homophobic ways after their law school bid was rejected.

    It requires members to abstain from using vulgar language, lying or cheating, stealing, using degrading materials such as pornography, and "sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman."

    While that rule effectively bars anyone who is unmarried from having sexual relations, it's the reference to "man and a woman" that is considered discriminatory against LGBT people. Same-sex marriage became legal in Canada in 2005.

    And Janet, get real. Not being allowed to open a law school because you discriminate against others, doesn't count as a loss in diversity.

    Janet Epp Buckingham, a TWU professor who helped develop the law school proposal, said she was saddened by the ruling.

    "We feel that this is a loss for diversity in Canada"

    Edit: It looks they stopped making students promise to be straight in 2018, but they didn't drop it for the staff.

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