Crisosto Apache was born and raised on the Mescalero Apache reservation in New Mexico. After coming out at age 17, they left home and spent years searching for a sense of belonging in gay scenes in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. In this episode, featuring an interview recorded in June 2014, Crisosto describes how coming out again as two-spirit later in life enabled them to reconnect with their people, culture, and an indigenous identity that had been there all along.

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Learn more at www.countryqueers.com.

And please donate to support Indigenous communities that have been hit hard by the Covid-19 Pandemic at:

The Navajo Nation Covid-19 Relief Fund

and

The White Mountain Apache Tribe Covid-19 Relief Fund

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Host, Producer, and Lead Editor: Rae Garringer 

Assistant Editor and Musical Magic: Tommie Anderson 

Editorial Advisory Dream Team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland.

Theme Song: Composed and performed on banjo by Sam Gleaves. 

Additional music on acoustic and electric guitar written and performed by Tommie Anderson.

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 Special thanks to Laura Staresheski and AIR Media's mentorship program for support on this episode. And, thanks to Hideo Higashibaba, Riley Cockrell, Abby Huggins, Sam Gleaves, and Yasmine Farhang for feedback on the first draft. Thanks also to Benny Becker for helping clean up the background noise in Crisosto's interview!  Thanks most of all to Crisosto for sharing their story so generously with us all!