Two Spirit People
Two Spirit Community Links
Montana Two Spirit Society: https://www.mttwospirit.org/our-work/
Helena Indian Alliance: https://hia-mt.org/
Two Spirt Books/Poetry/Films: https://www.mttwospirit.org/resources/
Two Spirit Resources: https://collegefund.org/two-spirit-and-lgbtq/two-spirit-and-lgbtq-resources/
My Acknowledgment of Colonization
I recognize that the land on which my practice operates is the unceded territory of Indigenous nations. I explicitly acknowledge that the modern mental health system—including traditional talk therapy, the medical model, and diagnostic manuals—is deeply rooted in Eurocentric, individualistic values that have historically been used as tools of colonization and erasure against Native peoples. Mainstream psychology has frequently pathologized Indigenous intergenerational trauma while ignoring the ongoing systemic violence of land theft and forced assimilation.
Sovereignty vs. The Lack of Mental Health Services
I firmly believe that Indigenous communities possess the inherent wisdom, ancestral intelligence, and cultural medicine required to heal their own people. Healing happens most profoundly through community, ceremony, and reconnection to the land—spaces where Western clinical frameworks have no authority.
However, I also acknowledge the stark reality of the severe deficit in culturally accessible mental health services and systemic resources allocated to Native communities due to ongoing structural inequality. Because colonial systems have created these massive gaps in care, many Indigenous individuals find themselves seeking support outside of their community structures.
My Commitment to Serving You
If you choose to seek care with me, my role is not to act as an 'expert' or impose Western definitions of wellness onto your life. Instead, I commit to doing my best to serve you by:
Relinquishing the clinical hierarchy to meet you as a collaborator rather than a patient.
Validating your distress and anger as rational responses to systemic oppression and historical trauma, rather than internal defects.
De-centering individual isolation to look at your well-being through a relational and environmental lens.
Supporting your autonomy if you wish to weave traditional healing practices, oral storytelling, or community rituals into your therapeutic journey.
I offer this space with humility, acknowledging my limitations as an outside practitioner, while striving to remain a safe, respectful harbor in a system that was not originally built for you."
~Jlynn (Jennifer) Franklin
