08/25/2025
Today's figure in Trans History is Joshua Whitehead (he/him), an Oji-Cree, Two-Spirit poet, storyteller and academic from Peguis First Nation on Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba.
Joshua Whitehead is an Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies and English at the University of Calgary on Treaty 7 territory. Whitehead is the author of the poetry collection "full-metal indigiq***r" (shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award and the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry), the novel "Jonny Appleseed" (winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction and the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction, and a finalist for multiple major prizes including the Giller Prize), and the forthcoming non-fiction work "Making Love with the Land". He is also the editor of "Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiq***r Speculative Fiction". His writing, often lyrical, experimental, and intertextual, explores Indigeneity—particularly 2SQ (Two-Spirit and q***r Indigenous) experiences—through themes of gender, sexuality, mental health, and land. His work has appeared widely in literary magazines including Prairie Fire, Arc Poetry Magazine, CV2, EVENT, The Fiddlehead, Grain, and Red Rising Magazine.
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