Historical and cultural aspects of native american queer identity

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Historical and cultural aspects of native american queer identity

O. Shostak

National Aviation University.

Abstract. For indigenous peoples queer identity reproduces personal, often unconscious ideas about themselves and their place in the world. Berdache identity is the most common, personal, sometimes unconscious idea about the inner structure of Native American societies of the past. Such an assessment is not always positively perceived by the white mainstream culture of modern American society. However, the recognition of indigenous identity has now become a condition for further positive dynamics of the Native Americans self-acceptance in the US and Canada.

Key words: Native Americans, queer, national identity, indigenous societies, berdache, Two Spirit.

О. Г. Шостак. Традиционная квир-идентичность американских индейцев в историко-культурном аспекте

Для коренных народов Северной Америки квир-идентичность воспроизводит личные, часто неосознанные представления о себе и своем месте в мире. Идентичность бердаче - наиболее распространенная, личная, иногда бессознательная идея внутренней структуры индейских обществ прошлого. Такая идея не всегда позитивно воспринимается белой основной культурой современного американского общества. Тем не менее, признание самобытности коренных традиций становится главным условием дальнейшей позитивной динамики самоутверждения коренных американцев в США и Канаде.

Ключевые слова: коренные народы Северной Америки, национальная идентичность, бердаче, двойной дух, квир-идентичность, гендер, традиционные сообщества американских индейцев.

О. Г. Шостак. ТРАДИЦІЙНА КВІР-ІДЕНТИЧНІСТЬ АМЕРИКАНСЬКИХ ІНДІАНЦІВ У ІСТОРИКО-КУЛЬТУРОЛОГІЧНОМУ АСПЕКТІ

berdache identity indian

У вступі виявлено необхідність аналізу традиційної квір-ідентичності американських індіанців у історико-культурологічному аспекті у світлі змін глобальної тендерної ідеології, яка не редукується ні до формальної, ні до змістовної складової патріархального суспільства, заснованого на європейській християнській ідеології. Показано, що пройдений соціумом етап пост- християнського уявлення про гендер робить можливою трансформацію мейнстрімних гендерних уявлень з урахуванням традицій корінних народів Північної Америки. При формулюванні мети дослідження авторка виходила з невирішеності питання причин, методів і підходів при формуванні описів історичної невідповідність коду бердаче у родовій системі північноамериканських корінних спільнот протягом п'ятсот років англо-європейської колонізації. Її завданням було дослідити особливості гендерної ідентичності бердаче (подвійного духу) у мові сучасного індіанського суспільства на макро-та мікрорівні, а також у міжкультурних комунікаціях індіанської і білої спільнот. Методологіядослідження. Зважаючи на специфіку об'єкту дослідження, дослідниця спиралася на історичний та соціокультурний підходи. Результатидослідження. Розглянуто питання формування гендерного середовища корінних спільнот в історичній та культурній перспективі. На основі історичних і культурних уявлень корінних жителів Північної Америки виявлено, що тенденцією становлення корінної гендерної ідентичності сьогодення є повернення до автентичних духовних витоків предків. Обговорення. Встановлено, що, коріннаквір ідентичність сучасності є одночасно продуктом і творцем унікального культурного й історичного досвіду, що є результатом опору корінних американців окупації із боку європейських поселенців, які не тільки захоплювали їхні правічні землі, але й знищували населення, що там проживало. Виходячи із колоніальних реалій, сучасна корінна квір-ідентичність залежить від історичних умов і традиційних переконань спільнот у тій самій мірі як і від практики протистояння расистському гнобленню. Спираючись на ідеї гендерної ідентичності корінних народів, авторка отримала висновок про те, що нав'язування з боку європейських поселенців власного бачення гендерних ролей є культурним імперіалізмом, який слід розуміти як методологічну настанову та її практичну реалізацію у родинній сфері як нуклеарної частини системи національно-духовних цінностей корінних народів, що призвело до фальшування дійсності в інтересах колоніальної ідеології. У такий спосіб продукувалися гетерономні по відношенню до корінної культури і національного буття семіотичні системи - «гендерні міфи», що спотворювали реальність усталених віками суспільних відносин індіанських громад.

Ключові слова: корінні народи Північної Америки, національна ідентичність, бердаче, подвійний дух, квір-ідентичність, гендер, традиційні спільноти американських індіанців.

Introduction

Many indigenous societies drew a distinction between the third and fourth sexes, which defined the roles of the community members whose gender identity did not coincide with the natural sex. Gender orientation was considered an acquired rather than an innate trait. Biological sex did not dictate the roles that a human chose for herself/himself. The author of the famous "Sacred Hoop" Paula Gunn Allen concludes that during the five hundred years of Anglo-European colonization, Native American tribes had to step back from indigenous gynocentric, egalitarian social systems based on ancient rituals and were made to change in favor of imitation European patriarchal system (Allen,1986: 195). Perceptions of gender and sexuality in the indigenous communities of North America differed significantly from according their Spanish, French, and English conquerors. We absolutely agree with the idea introduced by Robert Alexander Innes and Kim Anderson that colonial masculinity in North America emerged in order to control and replace brutally a particular gender system of indigenous societies (Innes & Anderson, 2015: 38).

The aim and tasks of our research

To analyze the phenomenon of Native American Queer Identity aspects and their consequences of cultural interference. The main tasks: 1) describe the situation historical inconsistencies of berdache code in tribal system during the five hundred years of Anglo- European colonization; 2) to investigate the features of Two Sprit gender identity in Native American modern society language at the macro and micro levels, as well as at intercultural setting communications.

Research methodology

The problem of research is at the intersection of different sciences. There is a separate historic, cultural and linguistic paradigm, the so-called "contact

linguistics", which studies the processes and results of historical events, cultural notions and language contacts in a particular geopolitical space under certain social conditions of communication between colonizers and Indigenous people of North America, ethnic groups, individual human groups that speak different languages and have different ideas about gender norms. A significant amount of both scientific, scientific publicist and popular literature is dedicated to the issues of gender identities in American Indian traditional societies. One of the most profound studies raising the issue of transformation of the forms of individual and social gender existence is represented in the cycle of works by Paula Gunn Allen, Will Roscoe, Lisa Tatonetti, Tara Prince-Hayes, Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Jason Cromwell, Oksana Shostak. Regarding the necessity and possibility of social-philosophical conceptualization of the Two Spirit notion in Indigenous societies Jacobs and Jason Cromwell wrote that that "gender variations" could be observed in all regions of the continent, they "crossed geographical, national and linguistic boundaries", anthropologists speak of "cultural expression of parallel genders (numbering more than two) and the ability to change gender roles throughout life" (Jacobs & Cromwell, 1992: 43-44). It should be noted that these multiple gender roles differed from tribe to tribe, and "were as diverse as Native America itself" (Tatonetti, 2014: c.x). Sue-Ellen Jacobs explains that the description of these roles can include both sexes and same-sex relationships, although they do not have to be sexual. As for the sexuality of people known as "berdache", it turns out that they were not always homosexuals or transsexuals. There was simply (and still is) some kind of man that is more related to the female sex, and women (and still remain) similar to men. This change of roles took place at a certain period of life and lasted for a certain time or throughout life" (Jacobs, 1997: 29). Tara Prince-Hayes writes that in indigenous societies, people with transgender sexuality were often not born that way, but rather their spirit made them so for the sake of helping the community (Prince-Hughes, 1999: 32).

Discussion

The very term "berdache" owes its appearance to French travelers who, traveling through the Mississippi Valley, first met individuals whose gender behavior could not be unambiguously classified as female or male. This phenomenon was called "berdache", which in French meant a younger partner in male homosexuality. Will Roscoe explains that such personalities belonged to the so-called "third sex", they combined female and male traits, which led to the special status of those who were nicknamed berdache. Berdache men did women's work, disguised or combined women's and men's clothing, and maintained relationships with men (Roscoe, 2017).

Many indigenous cultures were not only tolerant of contacts with Europeans, but also valued the atypical behavior of men and women. They were considered a hybrid of men and women, but these individuals could not simply be equated with modern gays and lesbians, their difference from ordinary women and men was a much more complex phenomenon than just "sexual orientation". They were seen as bearers of special talents, in the tribe they performed important functions: artists, healers, mediators, custodians of cultural traditions.

It is worth noting that the Great Plains women often participated in hunting and accompanied men on the war path, but the female species of berdache - a phenomenon much rarer, among the prairie peoples, researchers have recorded it only in the Cheyenne. These individuals were called the hetaneman. However, among the peoples of the prairies there were many women military leaders who behaved like a beardache in everyday life. A female Peagan warrior named Running Eagle dressed in men's clothing on the path of war, and a Woman Chief Crow was a member of the tribal military council and had four wives among the women who performed all the necessary for everyday life responsibilities, such as building types, preparing food, processing skins and sewing clothes. It should be said that the Woman-Leader became bearded as a result of the vision after the death of her husband, who died in battle, which she accompanied on the path of war (Lang, 1998).

In general, women joined military units and even led them in cases of revenge for the death of a relative or when men were on the hunt and the settlement was attacked by enemies. Sometimes women became warriors as a result of visions, when they received guidance on this path from higher powers. Indigenous people were considered supreme only in the military, when they won military trophies: prisoners or horses, so it was prestigious for women to take part in a military campaign, although no one encouraged them to do so. "The system of priorities of prestige among the peoples of the prairies was undoubtedly dominated by men's occupations, such as war, where it was possible to demonstrate men's victory" (Lang, 2017). But the term "woman warrior" is not precise enough in this respect, to be a warrior among the indigenous people meant to do it all their lives, and women, due to their inherent gender roles, could not devote all their time to it, they could only go camping. several times in his life. This often happened at a young age, immediately after marriage until the couple had children and the newlyweds did not want to divorce. From the women came good guards and envoys. But their military careers ended as soon as a woman gave birth to a child, in which they differed from the Berdaches, who went on military campaigns all their lives. (Lang, 1998: 303-304).

Some indigenous nations had more berdaches than others. The largest amount of berdaches were among such nations as Aropaho, where they were called hoxuxuno, Arikaras and Assinibuenshad winktan, Blackfoot in turn had ake-skassi, and Cheyenne had he'eman, Comanche and Plains had ayekkwe, Bote, Gross centers, Hidatsas had miati, Kansas - minguge,

Kaiowa and Mandates - mihdeke, Plain Ojibwe - agokwa, Omaha, Peacocks and Ponka - minguga, Osheji - mixu'ga, Potavatomis - m'nuktokwae, Vinibagoshiengge-winkta. Most often, those who since childhood liked to perform work inherent by the opposite sex or as a result of vision became berdache. Among the Dakota and Lakota, it was believed that seeing a Double Woman led to a change in gender roles in human life, in other tribes this role was attributed to the Moon. The visions also reported special skills and craftsmanship that were often seen as women's handicrafts, such as making things decorated with patterns from porcupine needles, tanning leather, or making ornaments. Siuan nation even made a statement when a very good thing was made it was said "like a berdache's work" and it was considered the greatest compliment.

Berdache performed various roles in the religious practices of the tribes. They were given an honor of choosing the tree from which the central pole was made to fasten the ceremonial column at the annual Solar Dance ceremony, only their bot was trusted with it. Among Cheyenne, hemans conducted one of the tribe's most important ceremonies, the scalp dance; in the settlements of Hidatsas, a group of at least fifteen miati was the "organizing committee" of most religious ceremonies and were considered special "religious leaders." In other tribes Berdache were shamans and healers. The Lakota believed that their Vincta could predict the future and ensure a happy fate for a person if they chose a nickname for it, Peacocks were convinced that in case of love troubles a person should turn to minguga, because they are capable of love spells, and Cheyenne had hemani as the best good matchmakers. In addition, the Berdache were quite active in sexual relations, the Lakota believed that they increase male strength and inspiration if a warrior visits Berdache before a military campaign. Famous warriors of the past, such as the Omaha American Horse and the Lakota Mad Horse, had beard aches among their wives.

A Native American poet Gwendolyn Benaway declares himself to be a modernniizh ode (berdache) in the language of Anishinaabe, declaring his responsibilities as a connector with his people's ancient traditions. "As a niizh ode woman, I am responsible to facilitate between men and women in relationships and conflict, to protect and nurture other women around me, and to hold my sacredness in all my relationships. I am a Bear Clan woman, the ones who guard and protect our communities. We are supposed to be fearless in our love. Brave, defiant, stubborn, ready to sound the alarm at the first sign of danger. We call out violence within and without our communities. We challenge people who hold power and we question oppression. We nurture through plant and land medicines. We heal ourselves in private". There is no way to separate my gender from my responsibilities in Anishinaabe worldview. One gives birth to the other in an infinite loop. Western culture is polarized between understandings of gender that either root it as determined by biological "sex" or a more feminist framing that sees gender as social performance. As a trans woman, I negotiate these conflicting perspectives.

Most people, regardless of their ideological association, believe both of these viewpoints to some degree. I can be a woman to them but a different kind of woman because of my body. I am eligible for certain portions of femininity (activism, dress, expression) while denied access to other portions (desirability, heterosexuality, socialization)" (Benaway, 2017:114-115).

It is believed that the role of berdache arose due to the fact that not all men were able to meet the high demands of masculinity, which were widespread in ancient societies. But anthropologist Rufus Lands explains that there was a clear difference between those who did not want to join the military raids and those who had a vision that resulted in a berdache role. Very often the Berdache were active participants in military raids, it was often believed that the success of the operation depended their participation. Explaining his belonging to the ancient traditions of his people, Benaway writes that the niizhode were born "We were born into male identified bodies, perceived by our grandmothers as carrying a special set of responsibilities, and were raised from a young age as women within our communities. We carried the responsibilities of any other Anishinaabe women, but had some additional ones related to our unique attributes. We raised children who had lost their parents or kin. We often worked for the community directly in a variety of roles, including political and ceremonial. We usually had several husbands. We were the last line of defense in our communities if we were attacked while our men were hunting. We were celebrated as orators and storytellers. We cared for other women during pregnancy and menstruation. Some ceremonies are centered around our participation and leadership. We were as sacred as any Anishinaa be women is. We did not have vaginas, but we always had our responsibility and relationship to land. (Benaway, 2017: 119-120).

After the continent was actively explored by the settlers and the missionaries infiltrated the tribes, systematic persecution of the berdache began, government agents forced them to do men's work, and boarding school teachers severely punished them for their misconduct. As Christianity, and with it the negative attitude toward homosexuality, infiltrated the reservations, family members denied their sons no masculine behavior, but despite all these changes, the institution of berdache persisted and began to be actively revived in the early 1990s. (Roscoe 2017) .

The diversity of gender roles is reflected in the cosmogony of Indigenous Nations, and the public decline of these complex gender relationships is linked to forced assimilation and the contempt of indigenous peoples to indigenous traditions. As a result of physical and psychological pressure from the settlers, practices that were once an integral part of life have been transformed into something less visible, but still existing. Each nation has its own name for gender- diverse roles, while anthropologists continue to use the historically familiar term "berdache", which has a connotation of sexual deviations from the norm (Tatonetti, 2014: xi). Therefore, in 1990, at the third annual conference of gays and lesbians, of the Indigenous peoples of North America, held in Winnipeg (Canada), a group of scientists and activists proposed the term "Two spirit". This decision was a response to the entire history of anthropology, which contemptuously viewed Indigenous nations as the subject of research, and bright manifestation of this tendency was the etymology of the word "berdache." By choosing the term "Two Spirit", the natives emphasize their right and ability to choose their own definitions, thus changing the attitude imposed by colonial history and cosmogony. After the conference, there was opposition to the introduction of the new term, due to the fact that it was quickly co-opted by the New Age activists, who saw in it a romantic connotation of the original identity. The initiators of the new term themselves recognized the "Two Spirit" as a pan- tribalist phenomenon, as it was not tied to a specific nation, gender role or practice. Although" Two Spirit has not become widespread, this term marks an ideological shift - the beginning of the creation of the queer theory of Indigenous peoples". For writers such as Paula Gunn Ellen, Bert Brant, and in part Sherman Alexie, the queer practice of Indigenous peoples is a source of inspiration and a basis for creativity.

Prior to the appearance of Europeans on the continent, most indigenous societies were matriarchal, meaning that imitation took place through the maternal line. The children first belonged to the mother and only then to the father. In such a society, a woman owned a home and the main deities were female. In folklore, female images appeared as having power and authority. Women possessed political, spiritual, magical power, and with them autonomy and equality with men. Women were considered the backbone of the tribe, they were respected and valued for the contribution they made to procreation. Appreciated for knowledge of plants, the ability to heal and store food, valued their opinion in political matters. The life of the tribe revolved around women. While in modern America, indigenous women are pushed to the periphery of traditional patriarchal society not only because they are women, but also because they are women of indigenous origin. Shaik Shaheen Taj named it as a "double oppression" (Taj, 2013: 1). Stereotypical images of indigenous women as "romantic savages among untouched nature" or "the lowest rungs of the tribal hierarchy" were created by white men trying to document indigenous culture (Donovan, 1998: 17). The lives of American Indians were forced to be fixed in terms of Christian patriarchy, integral parts of which was not noticed or deliberately documented in these narratives.

A lot of nations of the American Southeast had a system of dual rule, divided into so-called white (peaceful) and red (military) power, these positions in ancient societies were held by women and men. The white leader was in charge of the internal affairs of the tribe, she/he was to deal with the internal affairs of the tribe, while the red leader was in charge of war and peace, establishing relations with other tribes, representing the tribe at tribal confederations. This power division is based on the understanding of the universe as the relationship of internal and external. This was the basis of the tribal power system built upon the clan basis. This dualistic system emphasized complementarity, not opposition. An analogy is the connection between external and internal fire, which represents the solar flame and the earth's lava (Allen, 1986: 19). In a lot of creation histories male and female deities function together, they control the creation process, and they are not understood as male or female or the "parents of creation", as if the whole world is the result of sexual intercourse between them. Instead, each of them has their own field of activity, and creation could not be breathed life into until both of these energy sources reached equilibrium. This duality maintains a balance in a world that is constantly pulsating with vital energy (MacDonald & MacDonald & Sheridan, 2000: 36).

The role of both women and men in indigenous societies was clearly defined, and its fulfillment was equally important to the life of the tribe, as both women and men were respected for their well-performed responsibilities. For the women of North America, the so-called chivalrous-protectionist attitude of Europeans towards their women was alien and even humiliating. And Europeans considered the amount of work done by American Indian women in tribes to be appalling. Researchers observed women working in the fields all the time, planting, cultivating crops and harvesting, digging pits for storing provisions, erecting and collecting tipi, collecting wild plants and fuel, cooking, carrying water, washing dishes, processing skins, sewing, carrying belongings during the hunting season and, of course, raising children. While the men sat by the fire, lit a pipe, sometimes repaired weapons or worried about horses. It was believed that all power belonged to men, and women had to do all the work.

Early tribal anthropologists have long argued that the distribution of responsibilities and authority in Indian settlements was not as clear-cut as short-term visitors saw it. It was the husband's responsibility to protect his wife and children, and with them the entire settlement in the event of a hostile attack, and if the enemies were too strong, to defend themselves as long as the women and children could escape. For effective protection, a man did not have to be unburdened by anything, he had to react instantly and repel those who were ready for war. Therefore, armed men, unloaded, went ahead, while women transported all the cargo and took care of children and animals. Before the arrival of the whites, when the Indians had no horses and unexpected skirmishes with enemies were rare, the entire settlement - men, women, children and dogs - carried the weight, which was distributed according to the strength of each (Grinnell, 1972: 128).

Undoubtedly, woman performed the lion's share of work in settlements, but in most indigenous cultures she enjoyed much greater authority than men. Her role was to maintain the settlement's circle of life. In the tribes of the West and Southwest, the diet depended more upon agriculture, it was women who provided the greatest amount of food, in nomadic cultures the survival of settlements often depended on the collection and storage of wild crops and berries. And it was up to the woman to preserve the meat that the men managed to get while hunting. In most cultures, they owned the housing and all the belongings stored in it, as well as the fields with the harvest and all the products they produced. When hunting buffalo, it was the women who chose the parking lot, and the older woman was the main authority on family councils. Women had the right to declare divorce, and since the housing belonged to them, a bad husband could be in the open air, having only a war horse and weapons. It was the women who managed the surplus products, could sell or exchange them. Especially valued women's ability was to heal and know the medicinal herbs, as well as the ability to needlework. In indigenous societies, craftswomen and everything of artistic value were highly valued.

Anthropologist George Grinnell wrote that "among the Cheyenne, women ruled the life of the settlement. They pushed men if they thought they were too slow. They are much more conservative than men, who are often kept from hasty, ill-considered actions. And if the women of the settlement thought that something had to be done, then most likely the men would do it (Grinnell, 1972: 128-129).

But, without a doubt, the most important thing that elevated a woman was her ability to prolong the life of her people. As Gary Witherspoon states when writing about the Navajo, the most important connection in the Navajo blood system was the mother-child connection. For the Navajo, kinship means intense, expansive, and lasting solidarity. Just as a mother gives life and constantly supports it with care and attention, so do relatives who, with constant care, help, protection, protect each other, share food and everything necessary. Where there is such solidarity, there is kinship, where there is no solidarity, there are no family ties. (Witherspoon, 1975: 21-22).

Among many indigenous nations, the relationship with the father and his family was considered secondary to the relationship with the maternal relatives. The most important men in the life of boys was not the father, but the maternal uncle, he was responsible for the upbringing the boys of the family, in general, the family (clan) was conducted on the maternal, not paternal line. Relatives from the paternal line were considered only cousins, while maternal - relatives. First of all, they were born of women (they came from a woman's womb). The newborn child was included in the number of relatives of the maternal clan. This meant that the closest to her were the mother's mother, mother's sister and all the women of the maternal clan, other important relatives were the mother's brothers, the sister's sons, the grandmother's brothers. Through birth, man joined first of all those born to women of his own clan (Lamphere, 2001: 38).

The family was considered the greatest asset of indigenous societies. Grinnell remarked, "Husband and wife were partners, sharing work equally for the family, often retaining the feelings that united them in their youth and became the meaning of their lifelong marriage. I have seen many examples of this, love is seldom spoken of in words, but it manifested itself in everyday life, when of all possible companies a man most often chose his wife, whom he fell in love with when she was still a girl, with whom he fought for success, and with which he grew old "(Grinnell,1972: 128).

As G. Visenor and J. Doerfler point out, the ancient Dakota explained that in order for everything to be related, it was necessary to be a good relative, and that meant a good member of society. This was the rule of the nation. Indigenous people did not have a so-called social contract. Virtually all peoples had a life system that functioned within a very real cultural and political unity, bound together by mutual responsibilities, clannishness, and physical kinship. Family ties were united into a system of clans that were widespread in almost all indigenous societies. Clans united tribe members in the nation and even more broadly - in a philosophical and cultural unity that crossed the borders of nations, so the very idea of a completely autonomous nation did not exist. "I think that the clan system destroyed nationalism, because it is nationalism that causes conflict." (Vizenor & Doerfler, 2012: 4). Just as there were no completely autonomous nations, there were no absolute leaders who had unlimited power over their fellow citizens. In the context of Native American life, a "leader" is not a decision-maker, but rather a coordinator, a

peacemaker, a teacher, an example, and a comedian. He cannot tell others what they should do, but he can persuade, flatter, tease, and inspire unanimity. The influence of a leader depends upon his ability to minimize differences of opinion, to rise above anger and envy, to gain respect and trust, helping his citizens in moments of mortal threat, risking everything he has (Vizenor & Doerfler, 2012: 5).

Changes in attitudes toward women occurred with the arrival of the white settlers on the continent their main ideology was Christianity, which promoted the superiority of men and the humiliation of women. L. Ross recounts the impressions of his great-grandmother from the knowledge of the white world ideology. Women were forced to cut their hair. Children's hair in boarding schools were always cut. Adults could not leave the reservation area without permission, or lease their land. Children were forcibly taken to boarding schools, some very young at the age of six. The Ursuline nuns organized the marriages of Indian women with white men, and the sisters were convinced that they were doing a great service to these women (Ross, 2009: 43).

Modernity has destroyed the old system of values, instead offering no real system on which to base the individual identity formation. "Creating such a system of personality without relying on a demanding and steadfastly reliable source, such as a strong cultural tradition or a stable and unchanging faith, is unbearably difficult, if at all possible, for those who feel neither in these nor in this modern world of do-yourself-and- discover-yourself. Hence the desperate need for beliefs, theories and instructions that promise to overcome uncertainty and revive neglected symbols and forgotten values (Донкіс, 2010: 219).

But the memory of the high status of women in indigenous societies was difficult to erase. The special status of women in traditional indigenous societies has led to the reflection of their white sisters, it is believed that the feminist movement owes the idea to the indigenous societies women. "As for Navajo women, suffragettes have always cited them as an example of the fact that women and men can and should have balance roles. There was no other visible evidence in this New World, the expansion of which relied on the unpaid work and reproductive ability of its women, as much as on the system of slavery and the forced reproduction of black women. In 1888, Alice Fletcher, an ethnographer and suffragette who lived among the northeastern tribes, reported to the International Women's Council that there a woman owns her home, her dogs, and all her equipment; children have their own property that is not claimed by their parents. The wife is as independent as the most independent husband in our environment. "Add to this the fact that in many tribes the female elders council could remove a male leader, and women along with male leaders signed agreements with the United States, and still had the right to divorce and control their fertility, thanks to good medical knowledge of herbs and time. conception, this led to consider them as immoral, and the whole system of tribal government as a "government of henchmen" (Steinem, 2008: xviii).

Osennontion and Skonaganleh: ra noted that in many respects Indigenous societies could be interpreted as much more developed than European ones (for example, the role of women in indigenous society far exceeded the dysfunctional Western attitude towards women) (Osennontion & Skonaganleh: ra, 1989). It was almost impossible to offend a woman in the indigenous peoples' languages by naming her genitals, as is practiced in Western societies. Thus, in the language of anishinaabe, the vagina is called ahkiitan and comes from the word ahkii-earth. Gwendilywn Benaway stresses the female role in the Indigenous society: "I remember one of my elders teaching us the word for vagina in Anishinaabemowim (Ojibwe). He cautioned us that any word for vagina could never be used as an insult in Anishinaabe worldview. The word for vagina, Ahkiitan, he told us while lighting up a third cigarette, comes from the word, Ahkii, which means the land. Anishinaabe know that a woman is sacred because she comes from this earth. She is rooted in. She carries it within her and like the land sustains us, she sustains her community and family. This is why vagina can never be an insult to Anishinaabe, because a woman is the heart of our people." (Benaway, 2017: 113).

Naumann comments that at the time of European landing on the continent, indigenous women had an inviolable identity and were highly valued in society. With the influence of Europeans, their identity gradually changed, despite the fact that European women learned a lot from them to achieve their own modern identity. Indigenous societies were assimilated, forced to live by European rules that inspired men to push women to the periphery. To survive physically, until recently, indigenous women had to be allowed to modify, steal, and even deliberately lose their identity for the last 150 years until they regained the opportunity to restore it (Naumann, 2008: 36). Conclusions

Following the mentioned, we may conclude that social transformations provoking development of Native gender identity is manifested as a subjective feeling of belonging to a particular social group and at the same time is a source of inspiration and continuity of each individual. The existence of the very phenomenon of berdache identity is determined by the social context and the inviolability of social ties in society. The study of the Native American queer identity has been and remains to this day a problem with inexhaustible potential for researchers. Two Spirit identity becomes a kind of discourse, causing self-discovery, selfinterpretation and opportunity to transform Native Americans into "real self" in their country and not to comply to the mainstream idea of what American Indian should be. At the same time, Two Spirit identity is not homogeneous and preserves irregularity corresponding to the modern notions of gender.

Література

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16. Macdonald A., Macdonald G., Sheridan M. A. Shape-shifting Images of Native Americans in Recent Popular Fiction. Westport-London: Greenwood Press, 2000.

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19. Prince-Hughes T. A Curious Double Insight: The Well of Loneliness and Native American Alternative Gender Traditions// Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature. 1999. Vol. 53. No. 2. - P. 31-43.

20. Roscoe W. Berdache. // Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2017. URL: http://www.plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/credits.html.

21. Ross L. Fromthe «F» Word to Indigenous/Feminism// Wicazo Sa Review. 2009. Vol. 24. No. 2. - P. 39-52.

22. Steinem G. Introduction to Wilma Mankiller // Every Dayis a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women. Golden, CO: Fulcrum. P.i-xix, 2008.

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24. Tatonetti L. Indigenous Fantasies and Sovereign Erotics: Outland Cherokees write Two-Spirit Nations// Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature. - 2011. Vol. 172. - P. 162-170.

25. Tatonetti L. The Queerness of Native American Literature. Minneapolis-London: University of Minnesota Press, 2014.

26. Vizenor G., Doerfler J. The White Earth Nation. Ratification of a Native Democratic Constitution. Lincoln-London: University of Nebraska Press, 2012.

27. Witherspoon G. Navajo Kinship and Marriage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975.

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6. Benaway G. Ahkii: A Woman is a Sovereign Land// Transmotion. - 2017. Vol. 3. No. 1. - P. 109-138.

7. Donovan K. M. Feminist Reading of Native American Literature. Tuscon: University of Arizona Press, 1998.

8. Gudmanian A., Drotianko L., Shostak O., Yahodzinskyi S., Radivilova T. Social Networks Communication Infrastructure: the Challenges of Multiculturalism. Social Networks Communication Infrastructure: the Challenges of Multiculturalism: Proceedings of the International Workshop on Conflict Management in Global Information Networks (CMiGIN 2019) colocated with 1st International Conference on Cyber Hygiene and Conflict Management in Global Information Networks (Cyber Conf 2019). (November 29, 2019). - Lviv, 2019. - P. 472-482. URL: http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2588/paper39.pdf.

9. Grinnell G. B. The Cheyenne Indians. Their History and Ways of Life. Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press, 1972.

10. Innes R. A., Anderson K. Indigenous Men and Masculinities: Legacies, Identities, Regeneration. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2015.

11. Jacobs S.-E., Cromwell J. Visions and Revisions of Reality: Reflection on Sex, Sexuality, Gender, and Gender Variance// Journal of Homosexuality. 1992. Vol. 23. No. 4. - P. 43-49.

12. Jacobs S.-E. Is the `North American Berdache' Merely a Phantom in the Imagination of Western Social Scientists? // Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality Ed. by S.-E. Jacobs, W. Thoma, S. Lang. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997. - P. 1-20.

13. Lamphere L. Whatever Happened to Kinship Studies? Reflection of a Feminist Anthropologist// New Directions in Anthropological Kinship. Ed. by L. Stone. Boston: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. - P. 21-47.

14. Lang S. Women Warriors. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2017. URL: http://www.plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/credits.html.

15. Lang S. Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Genderin Native American Cultures. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998.

16. Macdonald A., Macdonald G., Sheridan M. A. Shape-shifting Images of Native Americans in Recent Popular Fiction. Westport-London: Greenwood Press, 2000.

17. Naumann D. Aboriginal Women in Canada: on the Choice to Renounce or Reclaim Aboriginal Identity// The Canadian Journal of Native Studies. - 2008. Vol. XXVIII. No. 2. - P. 343-361.

18. Osennontion, Skonaganleh:ra. Our World// Canadian Woman Studies. - 1989. Vol. 10. No. 2/3. - P. 7-19.

19. Prince-Hughes T. A Curious Double Insight: The Well of Loneliness and Native American Alternative Gender Traditions// Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature. 1999. Vol. 53. No. 2. - P. 31-43.

20. Roscoe W. Berdache. // Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2017. URL: http://www.plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/credits.html.

21. Ross L. Fromthe «F» Word to Indigenous/Feminism// Wicazo Sa Review. 2009. Vol. 24. No. 2. - P. 39-52.

22. Steinem G. Introduction to Wilma Mankiller // Every Dayis a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women. Golden, CO: Fulcrum. P.i-xix, 2008.

23. Taj Sh. Sh. Native American Female Power and Authority// The Criterion. 2013. Issue 12. P. 1-5.

24. Tatonetti L. Indigenous Fantasies and Sovereign Erotics: Outland Cherokees write Two-Spirit Nations// Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature. - 2011. Vol. 172. - P. 162-170.

25. Tatonetti L. The Queerness of Native American Literature. Minneapolis-London: University of Minnesota Press, 2014.

26. Vizenor G., Doerfler J. The White Earth Nation. Ratification of a Native Democratic Constitution. Lincoln-London: University of Nebraska Press, 2012.

27. Witherspoon G. Navajo Kinship and Marriage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975.

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