CONTACTCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
Scroll To Top
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
The Two-Spirit Lakota of Pine Ridge
A photographer shares the light of LGBTQ+ Native Americans in South Dakota
For her Two-Spirit Lakota project, Magdalena Wosinska photographed LGBTQ+ members of the Oglala Lakota tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
“I was really wanting to connect with understanding more of what goes on in Pine Ridge and its Two-Spirit community,” Wosinska says. “Oftentimes, people go there to extract and show the harsh ways of living and poverty there. I wanted to go and follow the light of the Two-Spirit community and show the beauty in community they had to offer to one another.”
Photography by Magdalena Wosinska
This piece initially ran in Out Traveler print issue Summer 2022.
Wosinska was born in Poland, then her family moved to Phoenix when she was 9, where she grew up skateboarding. She picked up a camera in her teens and began documenting her life and friends.
Candi Brings Plenty, an activist who successfully lobbied for South Dakota’s hate crime protection bill to include Native American Two-Spirit people
“Being a photographer for me is an honor,” she says. “To capture people’s lives and stories to then share with the world, and for us all to learn from those stories and be inspired by them. Growing up in post-WWII communist Poland with a father that always struggled/hid his sexuality, often drew me to hearing other stories like his and bringing them to light with beauty.”
Entrance to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota’s Badlands
At 19, Wosinska moved to Los Angeles to photograph skate culture there. She played in a metal band for nearly a decade and continued capturing her milieu on film. She’s worked for big brands like American Express, Harley-Davidson, AirBnB, and Wrangler. But she’s also continued to document outsider communities, including Compton’s Black cowboys and trans skate crews. “I love documenting life for what it really is,” she says.
Nicole Big Crow (left), and her girlfriend, Ashley Colhoff
Asked what she learned from her Two-Spirit Lakota project, Wosinska says, “Too much to answer in this interview. We would need a weekend for that. That trip changed my life.”
An unnamed Two-Spirit Lakota tribal member in a field at night.
Quoted in Indian Country Today, representatives of Nagi Nunpa Hocaka (the Two-Spirit Circle, a space for LGBTQ+ youth in Pine Ridge), acknowledged that the reservation isn’t always a safe place for LGBTQ+ people.
Jesse Merdanian
Some of Wosinska’s subjects chose to stay anonymous.
Two unnamed Two-Spirt Lakota friends next to a highway on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation
This piece initially ran in the Summer 2022 print issue. Out Traveler is available on newsstands.
Latest Stories
The world's top 10 queer and trans-friendly cities
April 19 2024 2:52 PM
Brian Falduto gives Dolly Parton classic a welcome gay twist
April 16 2024 9:09 AM
These are the 10 most challenged books of 2023
April 13 2024 10:06 AM
Local itineraries to explore San Francisco on a budget
April 12 2024 1:54 PM
From job loss to chocolate triumph: Gay man's journey from U.S. to Spain
April 11 2024 11:45 AM
Uncover Dublin's hidden LGBTQ+ gems
April 10 2024 4:56 PM
Ötzi, the world's sexiest world traveler mummy, reveals a thirsty secret
April 09 2024 5:13 PM
The incredible ‘sacred’ waterfall you probably never knew existed
April 02 2024 1:29 PM
30 steamy pics of out celebrity stylist Johnny Wujek
March 29 2024 12:43 PM
35+ mouthwatering pics from WeHo's Big Queer Food Fest
March 22 2024 5:01 PM
Don't Miss These 10 LGBTQ+ Acts at Lollapalooza 2024
March 21 2024 2:10 PM
Discover Ireland's top countryside retreats: emerald elegance awaits
March 18 2024 3:56 PM
5 reasons to stay at this all-inclusive Puerto Vallarta resort
March 15 2024 2:43 PM
Spanish tourist city transforms into Europe's green hub
March 14 2024 12:53 PM
Discover the 15 gayest cities worldwide for 2024
March 13 2024 10:07 AM
Discover the last 30 lesbian bars in the US today
March 12 2024 10:25 AM