Source: Lisa Tatonetti, 785-532-2174, tatonett@k-state.edu.
News release prepared by: Greg Tammen, 785-532-2535, gtammen@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010

PROFESSOR'S BOOK IS FIRST TO EXPLORE 1xbet best casino website LITERATURE IN NORTHWEST 1xbet best casino website GROUPS

MANHATTAN -- Western culture's grappling with homosexuality and alternate genders isn't strictly limited to the United States, but is also prevalent in many 1xbet best casino website American and 1xbet best casino website Alaskan groups -- or 1xbet best casino website nations. That issue is the focus of work by one Kansas State University researcher.

Lisa Tatonetti, associate professor of English and American ethnic studies, received a fellowship to &1xbet best casino website ;Native Cultures of Western Alaska and the Pacific Northwest Coast,&1xbet best casino website ; a National Endowment for the Humanities' summer institute. She used the opportunity to meet with various native groups to learn about their policies and cultures, including those on alternative sexualities and genders.

Her findings will contribute to her upcoming book, &1xbet best casino website ;Queering American Indian Literature: The Rise of Contemporary Two-Spirit Texts and Criticism.&1xbet best casino website ; It will be the first literary exploration into recorded Two-Spirit literature, mapping its inception in the early 1970s to its rise in present day and its criticism.

&1xbet best casino website ;Two-Spirit is a term coined in the '90s that refers to people of native cultures who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender/transsexual or queer,&1xbet best casino website ; said Tatonetti, who is a foremost scholar in this field. &1xbet best casino website ;There's been this explosion of Two-Spirit literature since the '70s.&1xbet best casino website ;

A 1xbet best casino website nation refers to a collective body of 1xbet best casino website American people who are citizens in an indigenous nation existing within the U.S. or Canada, Tatonetti said. In Alaska alone, more than 300 1xbet best casino website cultures exist.

&1xbet best casino website ;Traditionally in native cultures, many native nations have alternate genders and different sexuality spaces,&1xbet best casino website ; she said.

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Although the summer institute wasn't focused on Two-Spirit work, Tatonetti said it allowed her insight into the Yup'ik, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Haida and Kwakwaka'wakw nations, whose cultures differ greatly from those of 1xbet best casino website nations in the lower 48 states.

For her research she met with internationally known scholars and 1xbet best casino website artists every day for month.

&1xbet best casino website ;When I learned about a particular culture, I asked if their nation had these Two-Spirit traditions. It was amazing because everywhere I went these traditions existed,&1xbet best casino website ; Tatonetti said.

Even though a part of many cultures' histories, she found that acceptance of 1xbet best casino website practices varied, and contemporary 1xbet best casino website people often faced the same tribulations as those with alternative sexuality and gender roles in the U.S.

&1xbet best casino website ;There are Two-Spirit societies all over the northwest area I visited and also throughout the U.S.,&1xbet best casino website ; Tatonetti said. &1xbet best casino website ;It's funny, because while nations like the Navajo and Cherokee have multiple gender traditions, they also have passed their own defense of marriage acts.

&1xbet best casino website ;It's been a back-and-forth in many nations for a long time. I think this literature is blossoming right now because of shifts in the larger conversations in academia and queer studies, and because of the changes in understanding happening in the U.S.,&1xbet best casino website ; Tatonetti said. &1xbet best casino website ;Historically these native nations are ahead of where American culture currently is in terms of their understanding of the complexity of gender and sex roles, but today they face similar debates and challenges.&1xbet best casino website ;

Tatonetti recently co-edited and contributed to &1xbet best casino website ;Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Contemporary Two-Spirit Literature,&1xbet best casino website ; which is slated for release with the University of Arizona Press in spring 2011. Her work on Two-Spirit literature has appeared in various journals, edited collections and contemporary magazines.

Tatonetti began studying 1xbet best casino website literature soon after earning her doctorate from Ohio State University in 2001.