Coya White Hat-Artichoker
“We have to unpack and interrogate the ways colonization has led us to embrace patriarchy and heterosexism,” says Coya White Hat-Artichoker, co-founding member of the First Nations Two Spirit Collective and current Program Officer at the Ms. Foundation. A Two Spirit queer Indigenous person and proud enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, she is intimately familiar with the systemic and violent ways colonization has harmed her community and others. Born and raised on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, White Hat-Artichoker used to be a Republican. It wasn’t until she became politicized on her own at the age of 15 that her perspective shifted. Since then, she’s worked as an activist in many communities and movements. “I believe in building collective power,” she tells GO. “I trust that communities most impacted know what they need and how to heal and hold their communities. Part of decolonizing means that Two Spirit folks, or queer folks, needed to be brought back into the circle.” Through her collective, White Hat-Artichoker brought Two Spirit people’s voices into the nationwide dialogue on queer rights. She has worked with a number of philanthropic organizations, and currently serves as a board member for SisterSong and the American LGBTQ+ Museum. She is also a strong proponent of self-education and the strength of collective power. “We need to learn about all the other struggles in the world, interrogate, dig deeper, and build solidarity with folks who don’t look like us.” –LC
