This Pride Month, I want to share this freedom to know yourself. Two-Spirit folks are STILL here even after boarding schools tried to erase this part of us. We might never have the same understandings that we did pre-colonial contact, but I am still here and still able to claim my identity because I am surrounded by a supportive community and am free to be who I am from the inside out.

I’ve been working on this piece for over a month now, namely because I’ve undergone a change in the way I think about the way we talk about and frame social movements and civic rights.

Part of this work has been learning to do what’s sustainable. Sustainability, especially as a disabled person, is vital, occasionally unpredictable, and entirely dependent on the individual, the day, and your personal circle of support. We cannot effectively organize or protect ourselves if we’re burnt out. We cannot do everything alone and expect to not burn out. Measuring what you’re capable of doing long term is a learning process and a skill. Do not feel bad if you’re bad at it right now.