Fun Times at the BAAITS Two Spirit Powwow
Fun Times at the BAAITS Two Spirit Powwow
By Vincent Medina
Last Saturday, February 20th, was the annual BAAITS Two Spirit Powwow at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, and it sure was a blast. The News from Native California crew tries to attend this event as often as we can to stand in solidarity with our Two Spirit friends, show the world our beautiful books and magazine, and have an Indian taco or two. This year was no different, Terria Smith (our Editor) and myself made sure to sign up as soon as we got the chance.
The BAAITS Powwow is unique, because it is an event where Two Spirits and LGBT Indian folks can be themselves, free of harassment. Dances are de-gendered, as BAAITS puts it so that “dancers feel safe to honor their spirit of who they are inside, vesus only the outside body appearances.”
To me, this event feels like a uniquely Bay Area event, and this year it was held on beautiful Fort Mason, facing San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, and the weather couldn’t have been better. The event had a very California Indian presence, with L. Frank Manriquez (Tongva/Acjachemen) as the Master of Ceremonies. There was an Ohlone welcoming from the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe, who are indigenous to the Carmel Valley, and California Indian bling on sale from the dynamic Marcia Cristoff (Wailaki). So many folks stopped by our booth, old friends and new friends, and we couldn’t be more thankful for the kindness everyone showed us.
For more information about the BAAITS’ Two Spirit Powwow visit http://www.baaits.org
