Autumn Leaves: The Cozy Season of Nostalgia, Wampanoag-Inspired

Autumn leaves and intimate moments of Wampanoag-Inspired Two-Spirit Couple

The red and golden autumn leaves herald the cozy season and the beginning of the holiday season.

It's a time of year that has long been nostalgic for me; growing up and watching my grandparents age as they doted on us, watching all of us change with the passing of time. Remembering faces who are no longer with us.

It's the time of year that I first knew romantic love at the end of my teens. I was young and had no idea how to navigate something so new and unfamiliar and I hate to think that I caused this other boy heartache. Wherever he is, I hope that he is well and happy. He deserves that.

Wampanoag-inspired couple walking together amid autumn leaves

As the season moves closer to Thanksgiving Day, it's a reminder to me that

American Indigenous culture has survived despite five centuries of intentional destruction by invaders and, remarkably, among them is the Wampanoag people of Massachusetts, the nation that lent a hand to help struggling English migrants. Despite the “gratitude” (or lack, there of) of said migrants, the Wampanoag, which means “The People of the First Light”, have managed to survive.

And, across the Americas, local varieties of two-spirit folk (each culture has its own distinct language for said people) have also survived despite colonization.

What I can discern about the various traditions that recognize two-spirit folk is that any who are married have not traditionally been regarded as “opposite-gender marriage” rather than “same-sex marriage”, although this is a very broad generalization over a very complicated subject. How the Wampanoag have regarded the subject is unclear, but the cozy season brought to my mind a sweet scene between a Wampanoag couple walking among autumn leaves.

Any information about traditional gender variation in Wampanoag culture, if such a phenomenon is recognized, would be appreciated. I want to do justice to the culture, to the people.

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