First Nations societies embraced variances in gender and sexuality, and many nations even have distinct words to honor these people – Winkte (Lakota), Nadleehe (Navajo), Sipiniq (Inuit). In Winnipeg Drew meets the drag team, the Bannock Babes. They see themselves as modern day tricksters or shape-shifters, embracing both the masculine and the feminine while sharing important messages with a sense of humour.

Drew, made up as Drewcilla, puts the curve in Curve Lake! In Ponoka, Alberta, he meets Chevi Rabbit who has an accepting Indigenous family. A homophobic attack at the University of Alberta led her to become a respected political voice advocating for the two-spirit and trans community. Two performers are exploring Two-Spirit art in unique ways. In Seattle, Howie Echo-Hawk, stand-up Pawnee comedian, says humour is a form of survival. In Edmonton, actor Marshall Vielle wrote a play, ‘Where the Two-Spirit Lives’, to revitalize traditional understanding of people who combine the strengths of the fathers and mothers of their tribes. Two-spirit philosophy can be a positive force for everyone.