The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions

Among the many accounts Williams cites, the stark
homophobia of the white recorders contrasts sharply with the
easy acceptance the Indians accord the presence of gays among
themselves. This is particularly notable in the earliest white
reports; as colonization deepens its hold on tribal lifeways, the
reported attitudes of Indians splits: some, usually the most
traditional, continue to accord high respect to homosexuals, even
to the present day. Of these, many, perhaps most, will not
discuss the subject with non-Indians because they are unwilling
to have institutions or practices that they value subjected to
ridicule or contempt. They also may feel a strong need to protect
the homosexuals and lesbians among them and the tribe as a
whole from further life-threatening assaults which for too long
have been directed against them.
Other Indians, more acculturated and highly Christianized,
treat the presence of lesbianism or homosexuality among them
with fear and loathing. They do not confine that loathing to
homosexuality but direct it to other aspects of tribal ceremonial
life, particularly when it has to do with sexuality. Thus a Hopi
man despairs of his people, saying that there is nothing good in
the old Hopi ways. This man, Kuanwikvaya, testified to U.S.
officials: “There is nothing good in the Hopi religion. It is all
full of adultery and immorality. I cannot tell all the dirt and filth
that is in these ceremonies.” Another Hopi man, Tuwaletstiwa,
testified that before he accepted Christianity his life “was
unspeakably evil … When a Hopi becomes a Christian he quits
attending these dances. He knows the evil in them is so great.” 7
These testimonies were taken in 1920, when U.S. officials
suppressed the Hopi dances. The men’s statements were used as
“local witness” proof that the traditional ceremonies were
properly banned.
These men eerily echo earlier white commentaries on the
subject of homosexuality. Hubert Bancroft, a scholar of