November is National Native American Heritage Month, which makes it the perfect time to share some incredibly exciting news about our ongoing efforts to make LGBTQ Native American history visible.
Earlier this year, the GLBT Historical Society embarked on a new partnership with Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS). Founded in 1998 by members of Gay American Indians, BAAITS works to restore and recover the role of Two-Spirit people within the American Indian/First Nations community.
Through our partnership, we will significantly improve digital access to historic materials related to queer indigenous communities. For the last few months, we have been working diligently to scan materials in our collection and prepare them for online publication. We have also been inviting members of BAAITS to come into our archives to scan additional materials.
This work will continue until the end of the year, and we are delighted to share a few pieces from the collection here, including photos of Gay American Indians members in the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade and a copy of the inaugural issue of BAAITS’ newsletter. We have numerous additional items available in our archives, and more will be added to the “Native American Voices and Activism” Primary Source Set on our website later this year, located at https://tinyurl.com/23takadc
The GLBT Historical Society is committed to acknowledging the historic and present importance of the original inhabitants of this land by working with indigenous groups to preserve and share the history of indigenous communities, ensuring that these stories live on for current and future generations. The items here are from some of the more than 1,000 archival collections held by the GLBT Historical Society that reveal a vast array of LGBTQ life, history, and culture.
We make these community treasures available to all at our archives downtown and at our museum in the Castro district. To book your visit, or to make a contribution to support our work, visit https://www.glbthistory.org/
Published (edited from previous version) on November 21, 2023
Recent Comments