Qualifications of Being
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Qualifications of Being is a comic-based zine detailing Raven Two Feathers’ decades long journey to acknowledging who they are as a trans and Two Spirit person, and learning to love themselves.
01/09/2020
Know a 2SLGBTQ+ Native looking to contribute their experiences to better improve our health? Please take the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board's survey at: bit.ly/2slgbtqsurvey
Oh, and also a $100 gift card ain't too shabby.
04/06/2020
This 100%
Image description: Two traditionally drawn Quileute hands with palms up on a black background, holding white text saying: respect our land by respecting Black lives.
So acknowledged Duwamish land while ignoring the demands of the BIPOC community today so here's yet another lesson about land acknowledgements. In Coastal Native communities when we acknowledge the land it is not just about recognition. It's a promise to our hosts that we will conduct ourselves in a good way while in their home.
If you truly acknowledged the land you'd be putting a stop to police killing people for simply being Black or Brown. If you truly acknowledged the land you would listen to the community. If you truly acknowledged the land you would not be pepper spraying and tear gassing people when they try to make you listen. Until you're ready to conduct yourself in a good way you f**k off with your land acknowledgement. . . . .
Also why now? Where was this land acknowledgement when Natives we protesting oil projects that threaten our waters? Or when you were taking your sweet ass time to meet with Native leaders?
07/03/2020
This is amazing! Qualifications of Being has come to the front page of Indian Country Today. Thank you Vince Schilling and Richard Walker for your hard work on this article.
The ‘Qualifications of Being’ Two Emmy Award-winning filmmakers create a comic-based zine about Raven Two Feathers' trans and Two Spirit journey
05/03/2020
You can now order a physical copy of Qualifications of Being for yourself, your friends, family, random person on the street. Anyone you can think of that would benefit from a great story and resource in comic form.
01/03/2020
THE PDF IS LIVE! You can now download and read the Qualifications of Being PDF for free on our website! (Qualificationsofbeing.com)
Thank you so much for your patience, let us know if there are any issues with the downloads. We'll have physical copies available on our webstore on March 4th!
29/02/2020
THE PDF IS LIVE! You can now download and read the Qualifications of Being PDF for free on our website! (Qualificationsofbeing.com)
Thank you so much for your patience, let us know if there are any issues with the downloads. We'll have physical copies available on our webstore on March 4th!
23/02/2020
We figured out the issues we had with the PDF of the zine, and we can now say with confidence that the PDF will be online on February 29th! The zine will be available to download for free at Qualificationsofbeing.com
16/02/2020
Thank you to Morgan at Portland Indian Health Board for this wonderful article!
Qualifications of Being – NPAIHB Qualifications of Being Qualifications of Being is a comic-based zine (a short, self-published magazine) exploring being Trans and Two Spirit. I sat down with author Raven Two Feathers and illustrator Jonny Cechony to talk about how they put this project together. Download the zine at qualifications...
It was an honor to have Birch Basket share Indigenous food with so many folks last night!
16/02/2020
Thank you to everyone who showed up! Last night was a huge success, and we are so grateful that we could finally share this zine with all of you, and give a proper thanks to those who made this possible. The event was so amazing that we (Raven and Jonny) didn't get that many photos of the event itself (current photo provided by Brian Cechony)!
We're currently working on getting the official PDF released on our website (qualificationsofbeing.com), so stay tuned for the next release date!
We'll also share some more photos from the release event from our event photographer Shann Thomas!
Thank you so much for your patience, we're really excited to bring this to a wider release!
15/02/2020
Reality is a doozy right now. Come check out the release tonight at 6p! @ Northwest Film Forum
14/02/2020
As a bonus part of the process, we have to print out labels for a little edit that didn't make the final cut. We achieve this by formatting 3 copies of the edits onto post-its, and pasting them on every zine by hand. Truly a symbolic moment, reminding us about how personal of a project this has been for us. Fun for the whole family!
13/02/2020
Lastly we have the final part of production, printing! Thanks to Paper Press Punch and Joel Schomberg, we are able to bind this project to a physical form that can be distributed to the public. They will be available to purchase on qualificationsofbeing.com, along with a digital PDF that will be available for free!
You can also get a physical copy at the release party happening TOMORROW at 6pm at the Northwest Film Forum! You can find more info here: https://nwfilmforum.org/events/qualifications-of-being-release-party/
13/02/2020
After drawing up the finalized pages, we move on to the post-production phase! The pages have been scanned (by a simple home scanner/printer) and are edited with a combination of clip studio paint and Photoshop. We originally thought about doing all handwritten text, but ended up going with mostly typed lettering to make sure it was readable. This combination ended up being a little cumbersome, but it still gave us good results!
11/02/2020
After all the drafts were finished, Jonny got to work on the pencil and inking phase. The revised drafts are drawn on Bristol board with blue lead pencil and micron pens. They are given one inch margins from the edge of the panels, which are drawn with a t-square.
10/02/2020
Here's a little look into the creation process of the zine:
Raven wrote an essay that became the foundation for the project. Jonny then worked with Raven to translate the words into comics. The two would schedule days to hang out so Raven could give immediate input on the pages.
08/02/2020
The front page has come to life! Keep a look out for a link to where you can buy these beauties.
31/01/2020
This is super cool! The first article featuring Qualifications of Being. Look for us in the print version of High Country News' March edition.
Indigenous zines elevate authenticity The craft’s lack of limitation allows for powerful storytelling.
23/01/2020
to Jonny's first out Pride!
22/01/2020
So excited to have and support Hillel Echo-Hawk with Birch Basket Catering at the release party.
Food that has ‘sustained for generations’ ‘alter-Native: Kitchen’ from Independent Lens by Native filmmaker Billy Luther highlights three Indigenous chefs
21/01/2020
When you score the wrong jackpot as a trans-masc person.
21/01/2020
20/01/2020
"To suggest that everyone commit to community service during their time off regardless of race is to imply that we have reached a level of equality and equity in society that doesn’t exist."
Black People Have Spent Centuries in “Service.” They Should Take Off on MLK Day. Owens: The only federal holiday that even obliquely recognizes what this country has done and continues to do to its Black citizens should be a time for us to observe, reflect, and celebrate — not to perform more free labor.
19/01/2020
We would heartily recommend watching Steven Universe, it's a gem of a show, especially for representation.
18/01/2020
When you get back in the closet for your art (and audiobook).
18/01/2020
17/01/2020
Trans Student Educational Resources' Gender Unicorn was my first rough look at breaking down a bunch of components that make up just a bit of our complicated selves.
Visit www.transstudent.org/gender and for more resources.
17/01/2020
Looking forward to this album from a fellow trans Two Spirit person.
G.R. Gritt’s new record is a testament to change - Yukon News Gritt, an Indigenous, two-spirit, transgender artist plays Whitehorse’s Old Fire Hall on Jan. 10
12/01/2020
😍
Janelle Monáe Just Tweeted 'I Am Nonbinary' The post came as a part of a trending topic on Twitter.
12/01/2020
Come hang out with us at the release party, this Valentine's day at the !
05/01/2020
Although these lands may have been ceded, they are still occupied. and would like to recognize that we are visitors to this land and these waters.
31/12/2019
Our website is finally live! Go check it out at Qualificationsofbeing.com
Over a year ago, Jonny Cechony and Raven Two Feathers struck out to tell Raven's story in comic form, with the love and support of Tracy Rector. We hope to draw you into the world of being trans and Two Spirit. Stay tuned for its release in February!
You have always been qualified to be yourself
This project came out of a meeting between Raven (writer), Jonny (illustrator), and Tracy (mentor). Raven needed to find a way to creatively talk about all the changes going on in their life leading up to top surgery. Tracy suggested a graphic novel, along the lines of Persepolis. Jonny chimed in that he could draw it. Raven agreed and they were off to create their first zine.
The story concerns how Raven grew up avoiding the idea of puberty and the b***s that would come along with it. They didn’t want their true self covered up. As things began growing, expectations of who they would become came down on them. They thought they had found relief when they came out as liking femmes, only to realize that wasn’t the whole picture. Instead they were led on a journey inward to find they are more than qualified to be themselves.