{"id":107918,"date":"2026-08-18T16:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=107918"},"modified":"2026-08-18T16:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:26:12","slug":"were-mikmaq-first-two-spirit-identity-supported-by-lnu-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/18\/were-mikmaq-first-two-spirit-identity-supported-by-lnu-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;We&#8217;re Mi&#8217;kmaq first&#8217;: two-spirit identity supported by L&#8217;Nu communities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post The co-founder of the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance, an organization that helps build support and awareness of two-spirits in Mi\u2019kma\u2019ki and Canada, wants to share what he has learned about two-spirits with others. Along with his friend, Indigenous lawyer Tuma Young, the alliance was formed around 2009 as a collective of two-spirit, Indigiqueer, LGBTQIA+ kin, elders, knowledge carriers, youth and allies from Wabanaki territory and across Turtle Island. In 2022, Young was formally presented with the 2022 Canadian Bar Association and the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Committee National Hero award for his work in promoting two-spirit and LGBTQIA+ Equality. The Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance advocates for and celebrates 2SLGBTQIA+ communities through relationship building, 2S-led research, and community-led initiatives. Wabanaki means \u201cpeople of&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F08%2F18%2Fwere-mikmaq-first-two-spirit-identity-supported-by-lnu-communities%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post The co-founder of the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance, an organization that helps build support and awareness of two-spirits in Mi\u2019kma\u2019ki and Canada, wants to share what he has learned about two-spirits with others. Along with his friend, Indigenous lawyer Tuma Young, the alliance was formed around 2009 as a collective of two-spirit, Indigiqueer, LGBTQIA+ kin, elders, knowledge carriers, youth and allies from Wabanaki territory and across Turtle Island. In 2022, Young was formally presented with the 2022 Canadian Bar Association and the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Committee National Hero award for his work in promoting two-spirit and LGBTQIA+ Equality. The Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance advocates for and celebrates 2SLGBTQIA+ communities through relationship building, 2S-led research, and community-led initiatives. Wabanaki means \u201cpeople of... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F08%2F18%2Fwere-mikmaq-first-two-spirit-identity-supported-by-lnu-communities%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;We&#039;re Mi&#039;kmaq first&#039;: two-spirit identity supported by L&#039;Nu communities - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/18\/were-mikmaq-first-two-spirit-identity-supported-by-lnu-communities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;We&#039;re Mi&#039;kmaq first&#039;: two-spirit identity supported by L&#039;Nu communities - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post The co-founder of the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance, an organization that helps build support and awareness of two-spirits in Mi\u2019kma\u2019ki and Canada, wants to share what he has learned about two-spirits with others. Along with his friend, Indigenous lawyer Tuma Young, the alliance was formed around 2009 as a collective of two-spirit, Indigiqueer, LGBTQIA+ kin, elders, knowledge carriers, youth and allies from Wabanaki territory and across Turtle Island. In 2022, Young was formally presented with the 2022 Canadian Bar Association and the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Committee National Hero award for his work in promoting two-spirit and LGBTQIA+ Equality. The Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance advocates for and celebrates 2SLGBTQIA+ communities through relationship building, 2S-led research, and community-led initiatives. 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