Richard LaFortune facts for kids

Richard LaFortune, also known as Anguksuar (a Yupik word meaning "Little Man"), was born in 1960 in Bethel, Alaska. He is an activist, author, community organizer, and artist. Richard LaFortune lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He was one of the first people to help organize Native American communities in the 1980s. He also helped start the Two Spirit Press Room (2SPR). In 1988, LaFortune helped arrange a meeting for Native Americans in Minnesota. This meeting later became the yearly International Two Spirit Gathering. He also worked in health and human services. By 1991, he was part of the Governor's Task Force on Lesbian and Gay Minnesotans. LaFortune was featured in a 2009 PBS film called Two Spirit. This film shared the stories of many Two Spirit individuals.

Richard LaFortune's Early Life

Richard LaFortune was adopted as a baby by a missionary couple. They belonged to the Moravian Church. He remembers that his birth mother came from a family of Yupik spiritual leaders. As a child, LaFortune lived in Alberta, Canada, and then in a small town in Michigan.

He loved music when he was young. He later studied piano at Moravian College in Pennsylvania. From a young age, LaFortune felt different. He knew his "identity did not fit into a usual category." As a young adult, Native elders told him about "third gender people in Native cultures."

How Richard LaFortune Started His Activism

LaFortune became an activist in 1979. This was after the Three Mile Island accident. This event happened near Moravian College, where he was studying music. After the accident, LaFortune worked with groups against war and nuclear weapons. This was in the 1970s.

Later, he became the leader of Honor the Earth. This group works for environmental fairness for Native Americans. In the 1980s, LaFortune spent time with Native American communities. These included the Ojibway, Dakota, Lakota, and Ho-Chunk people in Minnesota. He also became involved in the American gay community.

He saw an ad in a magazine called RFD. LaFortune then went to San Francisco for several weeks. He attended meetings of the Gay American Indians group. When he returned to Minneapolis, he held the first meeting for Native Americans in 1988. This meeting later grew into the International Two Spirit Gathering.

Richard LaFortune's Two Spirit Work

In 2005, LaFortune helped create the Two Spirit Press Room (2SPR). This group connects journalists and leaders in the Two Spirit community. LaFortune said the press room helps Native communities understand media better. It also helps journalists learn about Native cultures. This way, old ideas about Native people are not used anymore.

One of the first things 2SPR did was publish a "Community Briefing Handbook." This book teaches people about Two Spirit individuals. LaFortune became well-known in Minneapolis through various events. In 2005, he was the first Native person to lead the Twin Cities GLBT Pride Parade. In 2008, he was interviewed by a radio station called KFAI. In 2010, he was featured in a book called Queer Twin Cities.

LaFortune was on the advisory board for the Tretter GLBT Collection. This is part of the University of Minnesota Archives. He gathered over 250 documents for this collection. LaFortune was also in the 2009 PBS film, Two Spirit. In the film, he talks about the murder of Fred Martinez. He also discusses the history of unfair treatment against Two Spirit people in America.

Richard LaFortune's Writings

LaFortune wrote a chapter in the 1997 book Two-spirit People. His chapter was called A Postcolonial Colonial Perspective on Western Mis Conceptions of the Cosmos and the Restoration of Indigenous Taxonomies. This book was praised for changing how people talked about Two Spirit people. Before this, older writings used an outdated term. They often described Two Spirit people using Western ideas about gender.

One reviewer noted that LaFortune's part of the book was "the most unique." It allowed Two Spirit people to "reflect on their experiences." It also let them "express their concerns and desires."

In 1999, LaFortune wrote a report on Native Languages. This was part of the Native Language Research Initiative. The report explains how Native languages have been taught and kept alive. It also suggests ways to continue protecting them. In 2010, LaFortune wrote an article for a magazine called Tikkun. This article was about the history of organizing in the Two Spirit community.

See also

• Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies
• Two-Spirit