Queer Relations

Native Americans are not merely ghosts from America’s denied history or the subjects of appropriation for the latest Hipster fashion craze. Hailing from Cherokee, Chickasaw and Yaqui nations, we walk out of genocide to speak our truths and tell our stories. Through poetry and spoken word, we will describe our endeavors to preserve and reclaim our Native cultures and contextualize how our indigenous identities and our Queer experiences coexist.  

Photo by Kimberly Lawson

Miko Thomas is a Chickasaw writer, artist and performer. The influence of his heritage is reflected and expanded in his art. Thomas often combines contemporary ideas and ties them to traditional stories to convey a sense of understanding and acknowledgement.

Photo by Gregory Sykes

Kim Shuck is a writer, basket weaver, educator and sometime activist. One of her three kids has now toddled off to University and is no longer speaking to her, the others remain at home. Her recent capers include being selected as one of KQED’s local Indian Heroes in November 2008, organizing a show of art by the visually impaired and being included in an anthology of essays by Marijo Moore called Birthed from Scorched Hearts.

Qwo-Li Driskill is a Cherokee Two-Spirit writer, activist, and performer. The author of Walking with Ghosts: Poems, Qwo-Li lives in Tonkawa and Tawakoni territories where s/he is an assistant professor in the Department of English at Texas A&M University.
www.dragonflyrising.com

Luna Maia is a queer poet/performer/curator who writes about issues of mixed heritage, feminism and gender identity. Luna has featured four consecutive years in the National Queer Arts Festival in addition to four curatorial efforts for the festival. Find out more at www.lunamaia.com

Supported by the San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grants Program through a Native American Arts & Cultural Traditions Individual Artists grant.