On Two-Spirit Identity and the Body as a Portal to Freedom (Livestream)
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On Two-Spirit Identity and the Body as a Portal to Freedom (Livestream)

A Conversation With Dr. Roger Kuhn and Jay Tzvia Helfand

By CIIS Public Programs

Date and time

Thursday, June 20 · 6 - 7:30pm PDT

Location

Online

Refund Policy

Contact the organizer to request a refund.

About this event

  • 1 hour 30 minutes

These tickets are for the Livestream version of this event. To buy tickets for the In-Person event CLICK HERE.

Register to Access the Livestream and One Week of Ad-Free Replay Access

Books are available to add-on at checkout

What role does dominant culture play in how we experience the sensations, thoughts, feelings, and deeper existential mysteries of our bodies?

Dr. Roger Kuhn, a Poarch Creek Two-Spirit Indigequeer activist, artist, sex therapist, and somacultural theorist, believes that Two-Spirit people hold a unique and valuable perspective. Straddling colonial imposition and tribal significance, Two-Spirit identity offers a powerful decolonizing framework to achieve freedom and navigate the toxic systems of domination that impose upon the precious truth of who we are.

Join Dr. Kuhn and queer nonbinary therapist and mediator Jay Tzvia Helfand for a conversation illuminating the ways our bodies offer portals to our own liberation and how viewing our bodies through a somacultural lens can help us better understand how dominant culture informs and, all too often, misinforms our relationship to our bodies.

Dr. Kuhn discusses his latest book, Somacultural Liberation, based on his revolutionary mode of inquiry, Somacultural Liberation, an embodied practice that helps people connect with the intersections of their identity. Dr. Kuhn’s approach illuminates the full impact of our cultural reality in shaping both our individual and shared sense of self.

The history and experiences of Native American peoples and those who identify as Two-Spirit provide a path to access the full brilliance of the body. Dr. Kuhn invites you to explore how our bodies offer portals to personal and collective freedom.

Following the conversation, Dr. Kuhn performs an acoustic set of music featuring songs from his most recent music tour, The Two-Spirit Love Tour.

Dr. Roger Kuhn is a Poarch Creek Two-Spirit Indigiqueer soma-cultural sex therapist, sexuality educator, writer, activist, and musician. Dr. Kuhn’s work explores the concepts of decolonizing and unsettling sexuality and focuses on the way culture impacts and informs our bodily experiences. He is a community organizer of the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirit (BAAITS) powwow, and a board member of the Two-Spirit & Native LGBTQ+ Center for Equity. His latest music project, Mvto, is a songwriting anthology of his work over the past two decades. His first book, Somacultural Liberation, is currently available in paperback or audio. Learn more about Dr. Kuhn at his website.

Jay Tzvia Helfand (they/them) comes from a lineage of revolutionary queers, anti-Zionist Jews, and sick and disabled people. They honor the complex ways their ancestors have survived and carried culture to make their life possible. Jay is a white, trans nonbinary, queer, disabled, Ashkenazi Jew raised on Dakhóta and Anishinaabeg lands in Minneapolis. They learned from their elders who survived the Nazi genocide that never again must mean never again for anyone. Jay holds their work as a therapist and mediator as expressions of this deep call to align their life with movements for justice and transformation. Jay's politicized somatic therapy practice centers trans and queer movement organizers, cultural workers and trauma survivors. The lands where they live are the unceded territories of the Chocheyno speaking Ohlone people, also known as Oakland, CA.

We are grateful to our Bookstore Partner

Marcus Books is the nation’s oldest Black-owned independent bookstore celebrating its 60th year. Marcus Books’ mission is to provide opportunities for Black folks and their allies to celebrate and learn about Black people everywhere. Learn more about Marcus Books.

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Accessibility

If you need to request accessibility accommodations, please email publicprograms@ciis.edu at least one week prior to the event. For more information, explore our Accessibility web page.

Important Event Information
Access to the livestream event is limited to registered guests. Registered ticket holders will receive the link to watch the livestream, will have access to chat and Q&A, and will have an ad-free watching experience.

Recording Policy
Ticket holders will have access to an ad-free replay of the event for one week after the live event. A replay with ads will be released on our YouTube channel one week after the livestream. Portions of the audio will also be released on our podcast. Only registered ticket holders who choose to watch live can participate in the chat and Q&A.

Refunding Policy

All tickets and donations for this event are nonrefundable.

Organized by

CIIS Public Programs produces events, continuing education opportunities, and a podcast for people who are curious about themselves and the world. Our programs further personal and social transformation by bringing together the diverse voices of visionaries, artists, change-makers, and scholars to share compelling experiences, offer new perspectives, and expand creative horizons. Public Programs enhances and reflects the academic mission of our nonprofit university home in San Francisco—California Institute of Integral Studies 

 

Discounts

CIIS students, staff, and faculty receive discounts on all events. CIIS Public Programs Members receive a 20% discount on all events. Contact us for more information (contact info below). Please note that we may check your ID for proof of eligibility on arrival at event. 

 

Refund Policy

Tickets and donations for talks and conversations are nonrefundable.

Tickets are fully refundable up to 7 days prior to the event start. Within 7 days of the event, credit may be available. No refunds or credits are available within 24 hours of the event start. Read our full refund policy at our Frequently Asked Questions web page.

 

Contact Information

Email: publicprograms@ciis.edu

Phone: (415) 575-6175

Read our Frequently Asked Questions here.

Learn more about Accessibility at CIIS Public Programs

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