Episode 74: Growing up queer in a fundamentalist Christian family - with indigenous somatic sex educator Sherika Tenaya
I met Sherika Tenaya at ISTA and our conversations blew me wide open. Sherika is a member of the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, from the Ahwahneechee Kootzaduka'a clan, the original First Nations people of what is now colonially referred to as Yosemite National Park.
It’s a huge privilege to have Sherika on the podcast to share what she and her ancestors have faced as indigenous people.
She describes what it was like growing up in a fundamentalist Christian family in Idaho, discovering her sexuality as a queer woman. She talks about identity, religion, sexual expression and familial relationships with captivating passion and insight. Raising important questions about how religious belief systems impact the LGBTQ community and the challenges faced by indigenous people.
Sherika shares heartbreaking histories and uncomfortable truths about the experiences of First Nations people, whilst inviting us all to explore our personal relationship with having and being ‘enough’.
Bio
Sherika is the 4x great-granddaughter of Chief Tenaya, the final leader of her people before assimilation. As most Native people are, she was raised in a very strict fundamentalist Christian upbringing, a skin that she shed completely in her teens. As a queer woman, she has spent her life reclaiming her spiritual and sexual liberation and has a deeply held passion for helping others do the same. Today she is training to become a Certified Somatic Sex Educator and Sexological Bodyworker and holds her practice in Boise, Idaho, where she is known for hosting one-of-a-kind workshops that celebrate the diverse expression of human sexuality in safe-enough containers.
Resources
Tribal website: www.southernsierramiwuknation.org
Sherika's website: www.thesensualessentials.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherika.tenaya
IG: @sherika_tenaya
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