Wikipedia Trail: Karankawa people to Counterculture of the 1960s
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| Memorial plaque for Karankawa Campsite on West Galveston Island by user nsaum75. Source: Link. |
Yesterday while doing some research for a story in my Storybook, I started looking at past and present Native American tribes in Texas and discovered the Karankawa people. They are unfortunately not very well-known since it is believed that the organized tribe went extinct in 1891, but they resided along the Texas Gulf of Mexico coast. Two of the most interesting bits of information to me were the alleged cannibalism they were said to partake in and the fact that they kept dogs as pets. It turns out the tribe likely did not commit cannibalism except in drinking deceased relatives' ashes in water, but they did keep dogs who accompanied individuals while hunting and swimming.
I went to this page because I had never heard of a culture/society recognizing a third gender role. Individuals, both male and female, were known to take on this role among the Karankawa people, and it is observed in very many other tribes as well. Since this term can be incorrectly used synonymously with "Gay Indian", elders of a tribe are trusted to determine whether someone is gay or a Two-Spirit.
This link was included in the previous Wikipedia page when discussing the origin of the term "Two-Spirit", wherein non-Native anthropologist Will Roscoe is typically recognized as coining it. The Radical Faeries group is described by Natives as "emulating Native spirituality and engaging in other forms of cultural appropriation", so I wanted to see how they were doing so. According to the Wikipedia page, some communities are "inspired by indigenous, native, or traditional spiritualities", but they generally take on "rural living and environmentally sustainable concepts" to express their creativity.
Counterculture of the 1960s
This was mentioned in the previous Wikipedia page as the Radical Faeries are said to have been started/inspired by this movement. I have of course heard and learned about this movement in pre-college classes, but I was interested in reading more in-depth information about it. What I found most interesting that I did not know of previously was how expansive the movement was. I only learned about what happened in the United States, but I was shocked to learn that it was taking place in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Latin America.
Counterculture of the 1960s
This was mentioned in the previous Wikipedia page as the Radical Faeries are said to have been started/inspired by this movement. I have of course heard and learned about this movement in pre-college classes, but I was interested in reading more in-depth information about it. What I found most interesting that I did not know of previously was how expansive the movement was. I only learned about what happened in the United States, but I was shocked to learn that it was taking place in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Latin America.
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