Phoenix drag artist Navi Ho speaks out for Two Spirit people

Gender-diverse peoples have always existed. Cultures all over the world recognize gender diversity, including the Isangoma of Zulu Africa; Mahu peoples of Indigenous Hawaii; Kathooey, Bissu and Hijras of Southeast Asia; and Muxes of Mexico.

In Arizona and the precolonized Americas, Indigenous nations such as the Navajo Diné, Omaha, Sioux, Iban and Hidatsa peoples had their own special terms for what we now call Two Spirit peoples. These Two Spirit peoples were held in high regard in Indigenous communities, and seen as people able to more fully tap into all aspects of the human experience. They were celebrated as shamans, healers, warriors and caregivers.

Navi Ho, a Navajo drag artist and Two Spirit activist and educator, has been working to spread their knowledge of Two Spirit history and present moment. Though Navi Ho, whose given name is Eddie George, grew up in the 1980s and '90s, spending time between Phoenix and her family on the Navajo reservation, they had never heard of Two Spirit people until the 2000s.

Discovering and researching the history of their own Navajo heritage was a catalyst for Navi Ho. Though they had been performing around Phoenix with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a radical order of drag nuns, Navi Ho began dedicating their life to spreading knowledge of Two Spirit Peoples. In 2014, they were voted the first Native American Empress of the Communal Court, part of the LGBTQIA+ rights organization known as the Imperial Court System.

After learning about Two Spirit pow wows in other states, Navi Ho organized an Arizona Two Spirit Pow Wow in Phoenix that celebrated its third year in 2025.

As the Trump administration attempts to eradicate trans and nonbinary people from public life, Navi Ho’s work is a reminder that gender diverse people have always been here and aren’t going anywhere.

At 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, Navi Ho will co-host the Excuse Our Beauty Revue at Phoenix LGBTQ nightspot Cruisin' 7th. Cost is $7, and proceeds benefit Diné Pride 2025.

Phoenix New Times spoke with Navi Ho about their work in the community and the long tradition of Two Spirit people in Indigenous culture.

Phoenix New Times: Let’s start with a bit about what Two Spirit means.
Navi Ho: Two Spirit is actually a newer term. I think it was probably created in the 1980s or '90s. It was an idea to show our heritage within the name. The name Two Spirit — from my understanding, a lot of people have their own ways of looking at it — is having a masculine and feminine spirit or essence. These people, within the Navajo culture, tribe, called themselves the Nádleeh. They were given that special name within the community and seen as shamans, and medicine people, as the people who would help out the community when they needed it. If someone was to go out as a hunter-gatherer and never return, the Two Spirit would be the people who took care of their children. Or if they needed warriors, Two Spirits would step up and take on that role. They were always held in high regard in the community, and as people who helped the community.

Sometimes when I talk to people, they say they feel Two Spirit and I always say, "If you feel it, then be it." I definitely look at the Two Spirit name as someone who is nonbinary or gender nonconforming. But it’s more in regard to Indigenous culture and traditions.


What was your experience like as a Two Spirit person growing up in Phoenix?
It was tough. I considered I lived in two worlds. I lived in the city, then during the holidays and summer I would go back to the reservation and live there. Going to school in the Valley, in the '80s and '90s, it wasn’t smart to come out and be very open about who you were. So I had to dodge and weave. I didn’t physically come out until after high school to my family, who had kind of already known.

But growing up, I didn’t only have to deal with the bullies in school and in the city, but the bullies within my family and community up north on the Navajo reservation, because they didn’t understand it. However, learning what Two Spirit meant, learning we were held in high regard and had close relationships with our elders, I could see that more. My connection with my grandparents was very strong; I really stuck by them and they really were my protectors. Looking back now, after knowing about Two Spirit roles in the Navajo tradition I can see that’s what I was living. I didn’t understand it at the time.

Let’s talk about your drag performance. You organize the annual Two Spirit Pow Wow here in Phoenix.
When I went to school at Phoenix College and joined a Gay-Straight Alliance club, I thought it would be nice for us to reach out to other LGBTQ+ groups looking for collaborations. I started to look around and I met a couple people from a group called the Bears of the West, and we began going to their meetings. We met some people within the group who said they were starting their own organization, and then they kind of disappeared.

Then in 2009, they re-emerged as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. In 2010, I joined the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. I wanted to find a way to be part of the community in a fun and creative way. So my path to becoming Sister Navi Ho started there. That’s how my community advocacy started. By doing that, and being around all these amazing drag performers, I loved it, but I never thought I could do that. I never thought I’d put on a dress and makeup. But a friend of mine told me I needed to go on stage and lip-sync. I did it a few times and it was fun.

You were hooked.
Yes! And that’s when I really transitioned to the full drag side of Navi Ho. While I was doing all that, I had found out what Two Spirit was, and that there were Two Spirit societies all over the United States. Then I found out that there was a Bay Area American Indian Two Spirit Pow Wow that happened every February in San Francisco, and I thought, "Wow, that would be amazing to do here in Arizona."

At that time, I also found out about the Montana Two Spirit Society. I was learning about these other groups of Natives out there that are part of the Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ community. I went to one of the Montana Society’s retreats up there, and the second year I became Miss Montana Two Spirit. It became my mission to find out if there were any Two Spirits in the Tribes in Arizona.

So you had never met another Two Spirit person in Arizona at that point?
Correct. It was all definitely still fresh. I had heard the words, but I never knew they existed. Even though my tribe had a specific Two Spirit name, I had no idea. So as I was doing all this research and learning. I was spreading every word that I could about what I was learning, and that was where it took me. That year, being Miss Montana Two Spirit was very helpful (in learning) there were other people there from nations around the world that had these beliefs and upbringing. That was just beautiful.


The knowledge was re-emerging. As a nonbinary person myself, and a Jewish person, I found that Torah and Jewish Talmudic Law always recognized at least six to eight different genders. So I think around the world, we see an ancient understanding that gender is not binary. It’s so important to reclaim that knowledge today. There’s a network that is being built, not just in Arizona or in the Two Spirit community, but all over the world.
Absolutely. And that network is just getting bigger as people ask more questions. I’ve met people from all over the world who want to know more about what Two Spirit is, and if they have something like that in their culture. I love helping people research that.

Here in Arizona, I’ve asked all the tribes, all the elders and tribal leaders, and I tell people to ask them. Ask about Two Spirit people, because we had to be here. Ask what was our role in the culture and have them acknowledge that. I’ve seen so many different tribes embrace that. The Wallahi up in Peach Springs have a Two Spirit group, the Salt River and Pima River Nations down here embraced their Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ community. I was so amazed, I just love it.

A couple weeks ago, we went to The Gathering of Nations, which is a huge pow wow in Albuquerque. And I dressed in drag, and I went and walked with my Two Spirit family in the pow wow circle. This is mostly a cisgender group of leaders who is not always accepting. But I went with full padding, full boobs, full hair and I was just like, "Now what? I’m a 6’2” Two Spirit person. What are you going to do about it?"

I used to go to those pow wows when I was young, and I was scared, hearing people back then taunt and mimic and use derogatory terms about the LGBTQ+ community, I want to be that person now that says, "No! I am here, and I am here to support you for who you are."

I had so many people coming up to me to thank me for being there, thank me for being in drag. I felt like a celebrity.

It really does shine a light and helps other people to feel brave. We have always existed. This ancestral knowledge that was ripped away from cultures all over the world, why is it so important now in the political moment we find ourselves in again?
I feel that it is very needed right now in this time, in this society. You’re right: The eradication of our culture by colonizers was completely unacceptable in every way. But the fact that we remain, and still have these stories, we have these traditions and cultures that are now blossoming, is a beautiful sign.

A friend of mine who is Lakota told me that the sacred circle will never be complete unless they invite the Two Spirit people back in that circle. Once that happens, we will live in harmony. To reach out a hand to everyone and say, "You are welcome," I feel that will bring the beautiful back into our communities. There will always be a human need to feel wanted and accepted. I know my purpose in this world is to be a part of that, to keep spreading this knowledge and this medicine. With the help of organizations and the community, I have grown from being a wallflower into an activist, and I will always be there to help others until my last breath.