Top Surgery for Indigenous Queer

Yá’át’ééh!

I am Charleigh and I am raising funds for gender affirming surgery!

I identify as trans and non binary. I started the process for surgery within the last 2 years. This past december, I started HRT (testosterone) and made big moves to make sugery a real thing for me. And I finally have a sugery date thats coming up soon (AUGUST 1st)! I can’t express how excited I am and what it truly means to me but I gave it a shot! Please donate and share far and wide to help this little rez kid get their boobies chopped off!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME?

I’ve had to learn to love a lot of things about myself, from accepting my neurodiversities (ADD & ASD) to being native and building a life away from the reservation. But the hardest thing i’ve had to learn to love, my whole life, has been my body.

There was never a sense that it wasnt mine—

rather it was hard to love the being in the mirror,

knowing that I didn’t see myself in that person and I couldn’t offer them love and care

I never really connected to the different parts of my who I saw, and what I saw— not just my breasts but, my overall anatomy and physique.

It’s taken me a long time to get to a place where I can accept myself being queer and non-binary. However, ever since I’ve identified as trans it feels like that is more in line with who I’ve been but it still doesnt align with what i see.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME AS DINÉ?

The concept behind Hózhó is balance. Our teachings tell us that we’re supposed to be in balance not only with what is around us but also within ourselves and I’ve never felt that full balance.

And even though I have an appreciation for my surroundings, I’ve never really had that appreciation for myself.

We’re not separate from our environment so, by not truly being in balance with myself, I feel like I’m missing a lot of what it means to also be in balance with everything else that is around me, which makes it feel like I’m not in the practice of Hózhó.

HOW DOES KÉ (kinship human to human and also beyond human relation) PLAY A ROLE IN BEING TRANS AND DINÉ

I think back to the small bits of history that we know of Nádleeh (Two Spirit/ the changing ones) and how we’ve been the ones who’ve cared for those who don’t have ppl to care for them anymore.

We’ve been the ones to extend love and caretaking to those that needed it, we’ve been turned to for advice because of our ability to walk through many worlds, because of our ability to be in many separte ways of being.

So we’ve been able to see the world, our families and our communities through multiple lenses and that has given us a lot of grace and compassion for those that needed it and also for ourselves.

Also, being in community with other bipoc trans individuals is hard to find but when I do, it feels really nice. There’s an in depth understanding with a lot of what this surgery means to me; a lot of care and condsideration that takes place without me even having to ask for it. I feel really lucky, especially with all of the amplified global violence against trans lives.

COSTS BEHIND THIS SURGERY

Even with insurance, it’s really expensive.

I can be given a number by the hospital but no matter how hard I work to raise for that number, there’s always a cost that we can’t account for when we work with these insitutions. I’ve heard horror stories from firends advising to make sure to still show up with 3k in my pocket.

This type of surgery is also very taxing on the body. I’ll be immobolized for several weeks but won’t be able to do much for many months. There are costs beyond the hospital. I have added costs of paying rent and utitlies since I won’t be on FMLA because Oregon doesn’t offer it until steptember 2023.

And the cost and weight that the community that chooses to care for me must also bear. Their love and energy still has to go into helping meal plan, bring snacks, and their company. The costs don’t just stop at the hospital. It’s not just monetary, there’s also a lot of emotional and physical labor from those that choose to support me at the end of the day.