Two-Spirit trailblazer dies

 - by Brian Eckberg
   Two-Spirit Columnist
   All Nations Two-Spirit Society

One of the great modern witnesses to Indigenous and Two-Spirit history has gone to meet the ancestors. Beverly Little Thunder (1947-2025) died on August 24^th, 2025, at the age of 77. She leaves behind her spouse, Pam, and five children. This life is a life worth remembering.

Beverly came from a difficult and fractured family, which only makes her story more incredible. She somehow rose above an alcoholic and abusive mother, sexual assaults, foster care, government boarding schools and an orphanage. Through it all, she found a way to care for her siblings, raise her children and care for AIDS patients in Phoenix as a nurse during the darkest days of the pandemic. And yet, this is only one layer of this remarkable woman.

She was at Wounded Knee, SD. in 1973 during the American Indian Movement’s (AIM) occupation that brought to light the governmental abuse of the Oglala Lakota people at Pine Ridge Reservation. She was part of the Gay American Indians (GAI) group in the 1980s, which was the first IndigiQueer organization ever. She bore witness at the 3^rd annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference near Beausejour, Manitoba in 1990, where the term “Two-Spirit” was adopted.

As a member of the Standing Rock Lakota Band from North Dakota, Beverly was forced to leave her spiritual community due to her sexuality. She later founded the Women’s Sundance, teaching leadership skills through ceremony, workshops, retreats and talking circles. Her incredible life story is told in the book One Bead At A Time, which is available in paperback and audiobook. I would encourage you all to read about this trailblazing woman who was an integral part of so many watershed moments in 20^th century Indigenous and Two-Spirit history.

She was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 37^th annual International Two-Spirit Gathering in 2024, where I was honored to dance with her in ceremony. She is known by so many of us as “Unci” (UNH-chee), the Lakota word for “grandmother.”  She will continue to serve as an incredible inspiration to so many for generations to come.

Personally, she taught me how to find the right tree saplings to build a ceremonial sweat lodge and to leave behind a tobacco offering to the earth for each one I take. She taught me not to bow my head when praying to Creator but up in honor and unity.

Unci had an incredible energy that she gave to so many, even in her final months battling cancer. To Pam, Lushanya and her other children, the Two-Spirit community across the continent is so grateful for sharing her with all of us.

In addition to her autobiography, the website for Kunsi Keya Tamakoce (Grandmother Turtle Land) tells even more about her Women’s Sundance mission, which continues on 75 acres in Huntington, Vermont: kunsikeya-tamakoce.squarespace.com.

And now, she belongs to the ages. Watch over us, Unci. Our hearts weep for such a loss.

Thanks for reading and Wado!

The Gayly. 10/03/2025 @ 3:22 p.m. CST.