Native Organizers Alliance - Stop this attack on our Two-Spirit relatives and their access to housing

 

Patricia, It’s Pride Month, and the Trump administration is trying to weaken life-saving protections for Two-Spirit, transgender, intersex, and queer people -- collectively known as 2SLGBTQI+ people. Right now, our relatives are protected by the Equal Access Rule, which ensures 2SLGBTQI+ people’s access to housing, programs, and emergency shelters that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Because of the Equal Access Rule, unhoused Two-Spirit and trans people are able to stay in HUD homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters that match their gender identity, where they’re protected from assaults and other dangers. But HUD is trying to dismantle the Equal Access Rule, which could kick our Two-Spirit and trans relatives out of their homes. We can speak out against this rule change by submitting public comments before the June 29th deadline. Please take a moment to submit a public comment demanding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development revoke plans to discriminate against Two-Spirit and transgender people. SPEAK UP FOR TWO SPIRIT PEOPLE HUD’s proposed rule change would also push housing providers to verify people’s gender identities, in part by checking their ID. This disproportionately impacts Native people, who are less likely to have IDs. Unhoused people and people with unstable housing are also less likely to have identification documents because their items are often stolen (including by police). Leaders at HUD want to increase scrutiny over our bodies, which impacts cisgender as well as transgender and intersex people. They want to fit us into unnatural gender roles and presentations, like colonizers did when forcing us to assimilate. They want to force HUD-funded housing providers to discriminate against transgender and Two-Spirit people. If finalized, their rule change would override Native people running housing programs and shelters -- an outrageous violation of Tribal sovereignty as well as Tribes’ treaty right to housing. This would also disproportionately harm transgender people and Native people, who are more likely than other groups to experience homelessness at some point in their lives. Submit a public comment now to oppose HUD’s attacks on our relatives, defend Two-Spirit and trans people’s access to life-saving housing, and demand the federal government uphold its legal obligations to respect Tribal sovereignty and to ensure that Tribal members (including Two-Spirit people) have adequate housing. SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT Hawwih (thank you) for taking action. Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund is guided by Indigenous values that teach us how all living beings are sacred and in relationship with one another. Our struggles and our rights are bound up together. We act in solidarity with our relatives, especially people in marginalized communities facing attacks, such as Two-Spirit and transgender people. Together with you and supporters like you, we will keep building movements to secure our shared rights and take care of each other. Judith LeBlanc (Caddo) Executive Director POWER OUR MOVEMENT

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