Why the name Yamoca Opia?
Our chosen name Casa Yamoca Opia (CYO), or Two Spirit House, is in the resurgent Taíno language, these words are a living connection to our ancestors in Borikén who understood all sexualities to be sacred.
Yamoca means “two” and Opia is “Spirit of the dead,” we decided to honor two spirits by reclaiming and recognizing our Queer Indigenous Caribbean history, and we felt the need to recover those words to intersect and regain who we are.
We use the term Two Spirit, which is often used in the context of Native North America because it resonates with how we understand our own identities and the traditions we are reclaiming, transforming, and maintaining. Through the creation of beloved communities, which include seed-banks, edible forests, and public medicinal gardens, our intention is to empower our broader communities as we change the system that stole land from our ancestors and created today’s crises of violence in our lives, families, and tropical homeland.