"The first Pride was a riot" Talking Circle

Join our dear friend La Johnny for a conversation on Two-Spirit/Indigequeer responses to global sovereignty struggles. 

This is our time to circle up, reconnect, and focus on our individual and community wellness. BAAITS presents this series of Talking Circles in response to community requests. These circles are created by and for our Two-Spirit, IndigeQueer, and Indigenous TG/GNC LGBQIA+ community, and we ask everyone who attends to be respectful of this focus.

Registration Required. Space is limited. Be sure to let us know if you can't make it so we can offer your spot to another community member. There is no cost for our circles! Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Eventbrite to receive notices of our upcoming programming.

Online Participation

A few points to consider for our time together:

*Quiet Space: Try to find yourself a quiet comfortable location to join us from where you can focus and be fully present.

*Sacred Space: You may wish to prepare your space if you can, by burning medicine to clear it out, lighting a candle, or do other grounding practices.

*Self Care: It's always good to have water or tea ready for yourself. Sometimes circles can bring up emotions, so we often have tissue close at hand to help with our healing tears.

Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS) exists to restore and recover the role of Two-Spirit people within the American Indian/First Nations community by creating a forum for the spiritual, cultural and artistic expression of Two-Spirit people.

About La Johnny: As a Two-Spirit elder in training, Johnny aims to re-indigenize spaces and practices that focus on healing. Johnny works in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, where he practices and explores what it means to decolonize therapy and social work.

Johnny has been Circle Keeping for 9 years. He started by working with youth in Long Beach, then eventually around the state, following the guidance and teaching of the National Compadres Network. In these spaces Johnny ensured that the voices of queer, trans and two-spirit youth were centered and uplifted.

Along with his current work in San Francisco, Johnny takes an active role in creating spaces and ceremonies for indigiqueers through the Bay Area Mexica Queer & Two Spirit (BAMQTS) Collective. Through his circle-keeping practices, Johnny holds space so participants can build community and heal together.