Art as Resistance: T’u Stanger on their Two-Spirit Identity, Grief and Creative Healing
By Rory Pate
Art by T’u Stanger
The Rage Magazine is celebrating Indigenous History Month through a conversation with T’u Stanger, an Indigenous artist from the Colville reservation. Stanger opens up about the sacredness of their two-spirit identity, the transformative power of grief, the love that fuels their creative process and how we’ve inspired their next painting!
RORY:
Hi T’u, thank you for being here with me today, it’s so good to see you! We’ve known each other a long time, but can you introduce yourself? Your name, pronouns, and tribe.
T’U:
Yes, way̓ inca iskʷist tʻuʔqʷščpuʔš [Hi, my name is Warm Heart] and I'm a Colville member. I don't have much to say when it comes to pronouns, because I'm very gender-fluid. So, however you address me, it does not affect me. I feel very comfortable with my fluidity and being a two-spirit person. I look super girly-pop one day and look super uncle the next, and there's just so much fun in that.
RORY:
Can you talk a little bit about that - just for people who don't know what two-spirit means?
T’U:
Yes. You can be two-spirit if you are Indigenous. Essentially it's just like having the masculine and the feminine. It means a lot for different people and communities. But for me personally, it was just knowing I don't have to be just one version of me or side of me. I can embody both.
I don't ever start my introductions by telling people I'm two-spirit. It is one of those things that feels so sacred, and I want to protect that. Explaining it to somebody that may not understand the depth and the power that comes from that identity - I just don't be doing that. I just be like, “Yeah, I'm gay”.
RORY:
Yeah, I think it falls under the umbrella of the LGBTQ+ community, but it's very much like this very specific thing. In indigenous cultures, there's so much storytelling; the history of gender expression runs deep. You know, gender-fluid people have always been around, but it’s still not a well-known part of native history to this day.
T’U:
Yeah, it's funny. People are like “There's just so many more gay people”. But none of this is new, this has all been around. Y'all just have been sheltered from them, or have not cared to put yourself in those communities, or are a part of the [cultural] erasure.
RORY:
I think [cultural erasure] is a big part of it too. That's what this month is all about: bringing awareness. These concepts and identities can seem so foreign when in reality they've been around since time immemorial. I think a lot of people possess feminine and masculine qualities in themselves, but don't acknowledge it.
T’U:
I’ve had multiple experiences with people that were like, “I didn't even know Indigenous people still existed”. That led me to think “What part of me would ever feel comfortable expressing myself?”. That's what's so powerful about being who I am now. Before, I was putting so much work into making myself the most beautiful art piece I could. That energy is now getting put into creating authentic art.
RORY:
You're really channeling this inner beauty that you already have in yourself, into your art, instead of trying so hard to uphold a beauty standard that people want from you. To me, I see it as an act of resistance.
What is your artistic process like? What inspires you to create?
T’U:
Each piece I create has a different creative process. What I do in my creations is for whoever is meant to receive it.
A lot of the time, I've just woken up one day and I'm like, “This is what I need to paint”. I don't really have a style of painting either; it’s curated to whoever it's meant for. This last year, I was commissioned to do some memorial pieces. I got to see a complete change in my art and how I paint and use different mediums, as well as where my details lie. I wish I could do this for free. That's a role that I want to have within my community. With my art, I'm really able to take care of myself and I want to do that for others.
RORY:
The bottom line of art is not about money. It's not why we create, right? As a painter, it can be hard to give your art away to others. But when you give it away, everybody takes something different from what they see. That's also what art is about.
What do you think has been the most rewarding aspect of your journey so far? Personally and professionally?
T’U:
Honestly, just seeing people have my art in their house, and knowing my energy is a part of their day, every day. It's a very positive thing. For my memorial pieces, it reminds them of someone they love dearly that isn't on this side anymore. But to still be brought those warm feelings, and be reminded they were here at one point is really good, and they can keep going. I think that's my biggest thing, is that I want people to keep going.
That's why I create as intentionally as I do now. Because some people don't keep going, and I want to continue on for them. I'm grateful to be able to do that.
Stanger and I both start to tear up over the phone.
Now I'm all sappy and crying-You can leave that in. My youngest brother who I'm crying about took his life earlier this year. He was a beautiful creative and a phenomenal artist and I think that there's a lot of things that I will create for him - through him - that he would have been creating if he was still here. So another reason why I create is just so others will continue to as well.
RORY:
Art is supposed to make you feel something.
I love you so much, I'm really really proud of you-like seriously. I can't be a poet right now, I’m crying.
We have to keep going and we have to keep doing the things that make life beautiful. Making memories and creating art and loving our families and ourselves. I see the work you're putting into yourself and your life, and it doesn't go unnoticed.
How do you see your work evolving in the future? Or how do you feel like you're continuing to grow in your artistic journey?
T’U:
Honestly, I think just letting myself feel every single day. I think it’s sacred because I am feeling it for all of those that don't get to feel it. Even when deep emotions arise, I can continue to find peace and creativity through it.
Creating through all of that, I think is what's really going to continue to push my artistic abilities. It's just a day-by-day process with grief, and honestly, all I can really plan for is the next day. We're gonna work on maybe planning the next week in 2025, but for now, it's just day-by-day baby.
RORY:
You and I both know you’ve lived an interesting life, we certainly don’t have time to cover it all. Your art is telling your story, and I can see it being developed even more in the future through your work. Thank you again for your time and telling your story.
T’U:
You just gave me an idea. So next one's inspired by you. The whole time I was like, “Uh-huh, yes, okay, I know what I'm gonna do next”.