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Queer Indigenous/Two Spirit life has been in a biopolitical war of survival with the violent encroachment of heteropatriarchy and settler colonialism on our lands, spiritual practices, family formations, and education.

How do we strive for thrival in times of survival?

Is this even a worthy goal in this moment?

At the CLGS Lavender Lunch, we addressed the tensions between thrival and survival with Professor Chris Finley, moving towards theorizations of Queer Indigenous hope and generosity in these times of despair. This is not the first time that Indigenous people have faced annihilation and world-ending events — and survived.

Our Presenter

Professor Chris Finley

Professor Chris Finley is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, located in what is now known as Eastern Washington state.  She received her Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan and is a co-editor and contributor to Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics and Literature (University of Arizona Press, 2011).

Currently, she resides on Tongva land and serves as an Associate Professor of Teaching in American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California.

A CLGS Fall 2025 Lavender Lunch