Kairyn Potts, a Two-Spirit Indigenous social media influencer, spreads awareness about queer youth in Indigenous communities and being Two-Spirit during his visit to SMC on May 4.

On May 4, Santa Monica College hosted Kairyn Potts, a Two-Spirit indigenous social media influencer from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, located near Edmonton, Canada. Potts uses his platform of over 200,000 followers on TikTok and over 90,000 on Instagram to educate and spread awareness on the Two-Spirit identity and queer youth in indigenous communities. He also advocates for Indigenous children that are forcibly taken away from their families and put into foster care.

According to Potts, a person who identifies as a Two-Spirit individual identifies as having both masculine and feminine spirits. The term was coined at the Third Annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference in 1990. Potts said that after individuals expressed feeling like the acronym LGBTQ didn’t connect with the culture, community, and ethnicity of indigenous people, Elder Myra Laramee from Winnipeg went into a ceremony for four days and prayed for a name that their people could identify with.

Drawing upon his own experiences, Potts shared his personal journey of self-discovery as a Two-Spirit person, highlighting the challenges he faced along the way. Growing up, Potts struggled with being different. After his mother passed away when he was seven, he turned to his aunts for a mother figure.

“I remember the first time I was being bullied by my older brothers for being queer — being feminine,” Potts said. “My auntie would always say, ‘Stop, leave him alone, he is Two-Spirit.’” He highlighted the significance of embracing one's true identity and finding strength within one's culture and community.

“Two-Spirit individuals were believed to be gifts from the creator,” Potts said. "They possessed both masculine and feminine spirits, they were believed to hold much more spiritual power.”

Highlighting this spiritual aspect, Potts invited the audience to appreciate the deep-rooted cultural beliefs surrounding the Two-Spirit identity while emphasizing the importance of honoring and celebrating diverse gender identities.

“I see it as a privilege,” Potts said. “You’re coming into your culture and recognizing that there are generations and generations of people who were just like you.”

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