FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2018

CONTACT
Gerard Koskovich
(415) 7846-1423


November History Programs Highlight Native American Heritage, Harvey Milk, AIDS Activism
    
San Francisco -- November is recognized nationally as Native American Heritage Month. To mark the occasion, the GLBT Historical Society is partnering with Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) to present three programs on the history and culture of LGBTQ Native Americans, known as Two Spirits.

In addition, November 27 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassinations of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay elected official, and Mayor George Moscone. The GLBT Historical Society is partnering with the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club to present a forum on Milk's legacy for today's resistance movement.

The November program series also will present the first public look at video interviews collected by the GLBT Historical Society's San Francisco ACT UP Oral History Project.

The events take place at the GLBT History Museum at 4127 18th St. in the Castro District. For more information, visit www.glbthistory.org.
    
      
Film, Performance & Discussion
The Indian Is Still Alive: Two Spirit History & Drumming  
Thursday, November 1
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. 
The GLBT History Museum
4127 18th St., San Francisco
Admission: $5.00; free for members

An evening of music and history with the Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits  (BAAITS) drum group, including a screening of the documentary short The Indian is Still Alive and the Indian Knows the Songs directed by BAAITS drum member Susana Caceres, followed by songs by the BAAITS drum group and an audience discussion. The evening brings together arts, music, dance, culture and traditions to help educate natives, nonnatives and all LGBTQ people. Cosponsored by BAAITS. Tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/2DSNuzK.
 
Story Time
Reading Two Spirit Tales for Children
Saturday, November 3
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
The GLBT History Museum
4127 18th St., San Francisco
Regular Museum Admission: $5.00 (general); $3.00 (student with ID)
Free With RSVP & Free for Members

An afternoon of story time for children presented by members of  Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) to create visibility for LGBTQ native peoples and to celebrate the diversity of genders, ethnicities and cultures in the Bay Area. Drag queen Landa Lakes will read 47,000 Beads, a book about Two Spirit acceptance written by Koja Adeyoha and Angel Adeyoha. Ruth Villasenor will read Rainbow Crow: A Lenape Tale, a Native American legend written by Nancy Van Laan that symbolizes the values of selflessness and service to the community. Cosponsored by BAAITS. Tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/2OyrSN0.
 
Movie Night
Evoking Two Spirit Experience Onscreen
Thursday, November 8
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
The GLBT History Museum
4127 18th St., San Francisco
Admission: $5.00; free for members

An evening of short films created by Two Spirit people offer insight into their lives and their spirituality. Most of the films were produced through the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project. A discussion with the filmmakers follows the screening.

Journey to the Drum (2009); 4 minutes. Filmmaker: Phoenix Lara. A short digital story about Phoenix Lara sending out a call to the Creator and their journey to the drum as a Two Spirit person.

Renacimiento de una Bruja (2008); 9 minutes. Filmmaker: Zemaya. Many years after a Two Spirit Xicana woman raised in the city experiences a spiritual awakening that connects her more deeply with her ancestors, she is guided to live on a country hilltop.

Traditional Indigenous Values (2009); 10 minutes. Filmmaker: Ruth Villasenor. The dissonant frequencies of colonization and Proposition 8 spark new thinking.
 
Tuupash (2018); 5 minutes. Filmmaker: L. Frank Manriquez. Native American song and meaning glow through a looming sky and give birth to resilience.

Two Spirits Belonging (2005); 10 minutes. Filmmaker: Rope Wolf. Spiritual connections abound throughout the Bay Area urban reservation.

Cosponsored by Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS). Tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/2Oyswdo.
 
Community Forum
Fighting Back: Harvey Milk's Living Legacy                   
Wednesday, November 28   
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
The GLBT History Museum
4127 18th St., San Francisco 
Admission: Free; $5.00 donation welcome 
   
The latest in the GLBT Historical Society's monthly "Fighting Back" series exploring contemporary queer issues in a historical context, this community forum will will highlight the living legacy of Harvey Milk and how it continues to inspire progressive, coalition-based political and electoral organizing in San Francisco and beyond. Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the assassinations of Harvey Milk and his ally Mayor George Moscone on November 27, 1978, a panel of historians, veteran organizers and young activists will assess how the events of 1978 affected the progressive movement in the city and how Milk's example continues to inspire work for positive change today. Cosponsored by the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. Free tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/2NiSxsF.  
                  
Video Showing & Discussion
Listen Up! Voices of AIDS Activism
Thursday, November 29
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. 
The GLBT History Museum
4127 18th St., San Francisco  
Admission: $5.00; free for members
 
The first public showing of video interviews from the GLBT Historical Society's ongoing San Francisco ACT UP Oral History Project documenting the history of direct-action AIDS activism in the Bay Area. The full videos will eventually be made available to researchers and will form the basis of an exhibition in the society's museum, providing new insights into the contributions of activists as LGBTQ people and people with AIDS fought against the epidemic and the lethally slow response of the government. Current project manager Eric Sneathen and veterans of ACT UP will lead a discussion after the video program. Tickets available online at https://bit.ly/2DT2gpS.


ABOUT THE GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM
     
Open since January 2011, the GLBT History Museum is the first full-scale, stand-alone museum of its kind in the United States. Its Main Gallery features a long-term exhibition on San Francisco LGBTQ history, "Queer Past Becomes Present." Its Front Gallery and Community Gallery host changing exhibitions. The institution also sponsors living-history discussions, author talks and other programs.
The museum is a project of the GLBT Historical Society, a research center and archives that collects, preserves and interprets the history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and the communities that support them. Founded in 1985, the society maintains one of the world's largest collections of LGBTQ historical materials. For more information, visit www.glbthistory.org.
 
 
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GRAPHICS: The following images may be reproduced in association with coverage of the GLBT Historical Society program series. Credits noted in captions are mandatory.   
 

November 1: Two Spirit Film, History & Drumming  
 
The Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) Drum Group performing at the GLBT History Museum. Photo: Gerard Koskovich
 

November 3: Reading Two Spirit Tales     
 
47,000 Beads by Koja Adeyoha and Angel Adeyoha (2017). 
    
 
November 8: Evoking Two Spirit Experience  
  
Film still from Tuupash (2018) by L. Frank Manriquez. Courtesy of Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project. 
   
 
November 28: Harvey Milk's Living Legacy
 
Harvey Milk campaigning for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1973). Photo by Crawford Barton; courtesy of the GLBT Historical Society. 
 
 
November 29: ACT UP Oral Histories
  
ACT UP/San Francisco protest march (1988). Photo by Marc Geller; used with permission. 
  
ACT UP protesters at the closing session of the Sixth International Conference on AIDS, San Francisco (1990). Photo by Marc Geller; used with permission.