Grantee Database

Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS)

Grant Year

2023-24

Grant Program

General Operating Support

Award Amount

$46,749.00

Project Description

With support from the California Arts Council, Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS) will sustain two staff positions–our first employees: Executive Director Angel Fabian and Program Manager M. Zamora. CAC funds will also be used to support the 13th & 14th Annual BAAITS Two-Spirit Powwow’s production and access costs to be held the first or second weekend of February 2024 and 2025 at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco, a free daylong gathering featuring several head dancers who honor the event as leaders, several hours of ceremonial honor dances, contest dances, and a drum contest. Finally, funding will also support BAAITS’s 2023-25 cultural and artistic programming to support and engage our Bay Area Two-Spirit and IndigeQueer constituency.

Organization Summary

BAAITS largest program is our annual Two-Spirit Powwow. At this Powwow all Two-Spirit identified Native American, American Indian, and T-SLGBTQI people and their allies get a chance to come together to celebrate culture, build community, and express themselves. The BAAITS Powwow was the world’s first public Two-Spirit Powwow and we are now the world’s largest. The BAAITs Two Spirit Powwow is modeled after a traditional Oklahoma style Powwow and is an intertribal event that also invites non-Native guests to experience Native cultures. On the day of and the months leading up to the event, we have contact with thousands of people who identify as Two-Spirit, American Indian, Indigenous and allies. We reach them, spread our mission, and gather people from all over the US and Canada to celebrate and heal. Powwow participants feel “ohno cochico”, community love or the way that one feels when they are amongst their tribe. It is a place where we can truly restore and reclaim the role of Two-Spirit people. We do this through cultural expression, getting back in touch with our culture, and ceremony.

Our oldest program, the BAAITS Drum is an all-gender big drum group that meets once a month. BAAITS Drum participates in drumming and community events throughout the year, and drums at our annual Powwow.

BAAITS organizes social gatherings, Two Spirit Artist & Cultural Bearer’s workshops and TS Talking Circles throughout the year and marches in the annual San Francisco Pride Parade.

In addition to the social gatherings, BAAITS organizes and participates in panels, cultural and artistic performances, and offers classes and workshops leading up to our annual Powwow, such as bead working, regalia making, protocol, and cultural dances for American Indian and non-Two-Spirit allies. BAAITS also participates in national and international meetings with other Two-Spirit societies and Native American organizations.

Organization

Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS)

Address

415 Valencia St

San Francisco

94103

County

San Francisco

Region

Bay Area – San Francisco

Phone

(702) 481-2536

Congressional District

California's 12th congressional district

State Assembly District

District 17

State Senate District

District 11

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