ISU student Layha Spoonhunter addresses LGBT issues in national webinar; represented UNITY in Washington, D.C. this summer

POCATELLO – Idaho State University student Layha Spoonhunter wwas among four Native American youths who shared their perspectives on LGBT issues during a national webinar sponsored by the Two Spirit Journal on Tuesday, Sept. 1., at 11 a.m.

The title of the webinar was “We Are All One Family, Let’s Not Make This ‘Just a Dream.’”

Spoonhunter, a sophomore in history, also shared his views on this topic earlier summer at United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) conference in Washington, D.C., during a trip that he was also able to meet First Lady Michelle Obama. At the UNITY conference held in July, Spoonhunter gave the invocation to more than 1,000 Native youth attending the event.

“The conference was a chance for Native youth to talk with top government officials in the Obama administration about important issues in their communities, from education to housing, economic development and health issues,” said Spoonhunter, who is vice president of the ISU student club Native Americans United. “There was a wide range of topics that were discussed.”

The conference was addressed by the U.S. secretaries of interior and housing, and the First Lady.

“A highlight was meeting Michelle Obama,” he said. “She was very supportive of the issues we had addressed and for me it was very exciting because I had also met the President.”

Following the UNITY White House gathering, Spoonhunter hosted UNITY’s first workshop on Native LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) and two-spirited issues that was also sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign. “Two-spirited” is a term used by some Native Americans to describe people within their communities who have both male and female spirits within them, according to Spoonhunter, who ISU NAU’s reigning Mr. ISU Two Spirits.

“In the 39 years of UNITY this was the first time they had hosted a workshop that specifically addressed what Native LBGT and two-spirits face on a daily basis,” Spoonhunter said.

He said that the Sept. 1 webinar will also be unique because this one focuses on the youth perspective of Native LGBT issues, whereas previous webinars focused on the adult perspective.

For more information on the Sept. 1 webinar, visit the webpage http://twospiritjournal.com/?p=85.