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Two-Spirit Acts: Queer Indigenous Performances
In this collection of short but powerful two-spirit plays, characters dispel conventional notions of gender and sexuality while celebrating Indigenous understandings.
With a refreshing spin, the plays touch on topics of desire, identity, and community as they humorously tackle the colonial misunderstandings of Indigenous people. From a female trickster story centered on erotic lesbian tales to the farcical story about a new nation of Indigenous people called the Nation of Mischief, this collection creates a space to explore what it means to be queer and Indigenous.
With a refreshing spin, the plays touch on topics of desire, identity, and community as they humorously tackle the colonial misunderstandings of Indigenous people. From a female trickster story centered on erotic lesbian tales to the farcical story about a new nation of Indigenous people called the Nation of Mischief, this collection creates a space to explore what it means to be queer and Indigenous.
138 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 6, 2022
This is a delightful and sexy collection of pieces.
Muriel Miguel's Hot 'n' Soft is a funny and sexy – very sexy, in fact – piece about women loving women, the coyote trickster, body hair, and getting older.
There are also three short Kent Monkman pieces: Taxonomy of the European Male and Séance feel like easy, and not very theatrical, critiques of European colonial views of First Nations peoples. These pieces are fine, but they're not exciting. Monkman's Justice of the Piece, on the other hand, is a scathing, smart, and humorous critique of US American and Canadian government policies as they relate to Indian affairs. Monkman appears as Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, the eponymous justice of the piece who is granting applicants membership in her Mischief Nation. The play addresses genocidal policies of blood quantum, immigration, cultural appropriation, homophobia, adoption, cultural lifeways, and sustainable hunting. It's great.
Finally, the book includes Waawaate Fobister's heartbreaking Agokwe, which tells the story of two high-school-age boys who are two-spirited and drawn to one another. It's a tale of crushed dreams in which their community needs to learn (and unlearn) what they know about boys like them.
All in all, this is an exciting collection, and hopefully more collections like this will be forthcoming soon.
Muriel Miguel's Hot 'n' Soft is a funny and sexy – very sexy, in fact – piece about women loving women, the coyote trickster, body hair, and getting older.
There are also three short Kent Monkman pieces: Taxonomy of the European Male and Séance feel like easy, and not very theatrical, critiques of European colonial views of First Nations peoples. These pieces are fine, but they're not exciting. Monkman's Justice of the Piece, on the other hand, is a scathing, smart, and humorous critique of US American and Canadian government policies as they relate to Indian affairs. Monkman appears as Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, the eponymous justice of the piece who is granting applicants membership in her Mischief Nation. The play addresses genocidal policies of blood quantum, immigration, cultural appropriation, homophobia, adoption, cultural lifeways, and sustainable hunting. It's great.
Finally, the book includes Waawaate Fobister's heartbreaking Agokwe, which tells the story of two high-school-age boys who are two-spirited and drawn to one another. It's a tale of crushed dreams in which their community needs to learn (and unlearn) what they know about boys like them.
All in all, this is an exciting collection, and hopefully more collections like this will be forthcoming soon.
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April 4, 2020Would be really interesting if Christianity and dream time spiritualities blend in for the sexual dilemma.
August 2, 2022
An anthology anyone in theatre, arts, and beyond should really read. Incredible work by incredible artists.
March 11, 2020
Jean O'Hara's work lacks considerations of external relevant factors
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews