Happy #LGBTQSTEMDay! I’m Ray, an Indigiqueer developmental biologist that works with sea urchins! With the overlap of this day with Native American Heritage Month, I want to emphasize what can be done to support and center TwoSpirit, Indigiqueer, Native LGBTQIA+ peoples in STEM:

First, when I refer to Natives or Native peoples, I’m using a general term that can include the following - Native Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, First Nations, Native Hawaiians, and Indigenous Americans. Each tribal nation will refer to themselves differently!

Know that “LGBTQIA+” are settler-colonial terms. Native peoples have their own languages & cultures that may or may not define members of their community based on what Western society labels as sexual orientation, and/or gender identity and expression

General umbrella terms Natives can use include #TwoSpirit (2S) and #Indigiqueer. Never assume a Native goes by these identities, and if you are non-Native, don’t appropriate these terms for yourself

Do your homework and learn where these terms come from, how they can be used, and build a relationship with someone before asking them questions. Here’s a podcast to get you started: https://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/podcast/episode/47547617/ep-6-indigiqueer

How are you acknowledging that your institution is on stolen Native land, and how are you working towards giving it back? Along with being Native and queer, it can be overwhelming that your tribe and other Native relatives are erased on a daily basis

After making your institution more inclusive or at least less hostile to Natives, HIRE Natives as post-docs, faculty, and staff at your institution!

This is also my periodic reminder that Duke has zero tenure track Native faculty!

How many does your institution have?

CONSISTENTLY provide funds that allow queer Natives to be members to and attend MULTIPLE stem conferences. @AISES and @sacnas are great for centering Native identities, and @OUTinSTEM for LGBTQIA+ ones, but being part of both may be the only way to meet a queer Native’s needs!

As far as I know, no STEM Department at my institution actively provides & sends NATIVE trainees to the @AISES and @OUTinSTEM conference. Please be proactive in this effort & don’t make trainees jump through hoops to tell you why this conference is important & why they should go

On a similar society and conference note - please do the research necessary to make your annual or regional conferences inclusive for Natives AND LGBTQIA+ peoples. Then also hire Natives to work for your organization!

A lot of my points focus on self-education, providing funds and resources, and justice for stolen land. All are applicable to entities that do STEM education (high school, museums, etc), research (academic and industry), and STEM communication, journalism, and policy

If your STEM institution currently is ignoring, erasing, and marginalizing Natives, most likely it's not going to be inclusive for queer Natives who may not be recognized by their communities because of the harms of assimilation and settler-colonialism still being done on them