Arnold Dahl-Wooley opened the event series “CommUNITY” for the academic year.
Dahl-Wooley is an activist and speaker who educates people on the Two Spirit community within Indigenous culture. He is also a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota.
Dahl-Wooley did a one-hour presentation about the topic and what it means to be Two Spirit.
“Two Spirits were male, female and sometimes intersex individuals that combined the activities of both men and women, that read each their status as two spirits. And in most tribes, they read neither men nor women, but they occupied a distinct alternative gender status…so this gender variance at times includes temperament, dress, lifestyle and social roles. They weren’t just considered man or woman, but considered both,” Dahl-Wooley said.
He spoke on what it means for him to be able to talk to students here at SDSU.
“I am always honored to talk wherever I go. I was welcomed very warmly. I got to see a lot of different people upon my walk from the parking lot to here, and then meeting everybody in like this break room area. But everybody’s been really warm and genuine and very knowledgeable, and I’ve been highly impressed with the group here,” Dahl-Wooley said. “That’s about tonight too. Everybody’s been very respectful, and I really love the diversity that I experienced while here as well.”
There were over 30 people in attendance and reactions from students were positive.
Harley Gullikson, a sophomore psychology student, said the presentation was really inspiring.
“I was really moved by his personal stories and the history of two spirited people. I felt empowered to hear that there were people like me in the traditional days and that we were even respected and honored,” Gullikson said.
Phia Lopez, a sophomore advertising student, appreciated the center holding an event to educate on the meaning of two spirits as someone who identifies as such.
“I know that talking about how Indigenous people have always considered two spirit individuals as sacred had a positive impact on more than just Indigenous students,” Lopez said.
The CommUNITY series started from the Office Of Multicultural Affairs and Accessibility. Every event is specific to each cultural club on campus. This one is a collaboration between the Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA), the American Indian Student Association and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
This collaboration came about in the early summer because GSA wanted to bring in a Indigenous Two Spirit speaker to talk with students.
“The Office Of Multicultural Affairs and Accessibility took it from there and pretty much did everything for it. We were pretty much there to help and bring people in and spread awareness of it. We wanted to help Two Spirit students on campus and educate them about it and what it means within the culture,” said Marissa Hare, American Indian Student Success adviser.
The next CommUNITY event is Sept. 24 with seven students sharing their story about their time at the Latina Empowerment Conference. The event is sponsored by the Latin American Student Association.
