In most powwow dances, dancers are divided into male or female categories. There is no other.

"I know how heteronormative it is," said Sheila Lopez, founder and president of the Native chapter of PFLAG, the nation's largest organization for families and allies of the LGBTQ community.

Native PFLAG wants to change that way of thinking. So, the Phoenix-based group is hosting Arizona's first ever Two Spirit Powwow March 9 at South Mountain Community College.

"We've taken off gender in our categories," Lopez said. As a result, it doesn't matter how a person identifies, they can dance in whatever categories they want.

Native PFLAG in Phoenix started in 2011 and it is the only chapter in the country that focuses on the Native American community.

Two spirit is commonly used as an umbrella term for the Native LGBTQ community, but it does not define their sexual orientation and not everyone in the community identifies as two spirit.

The powwow is meant to offer a safe space for the community.

"You won't be discriminated or harassed based on your identity," Lopez said. "You can be who you want to be, dress however you want to dress and dance in whatever group you want to dance in."

Lopez noted the rainbow and transgender flag will be included in the grand entry of the powwow, and the individuals carrying the flags are from the community.

The powwow is modeled after others hosted by the Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) organization, which hosts the largest two spirit powwow in the nation.

"Traditionally, Native American two spirit people were male, female, and sometimes intersexed individuals who combined activities of both men and women with traits unique to their status as two spirit people," according to a description on the Indian Health Service website. "In most tribes, they were considered neither men nor women; they occupied a distinct, alternative gender status."

The event will feature powwow dancers from across the country, free HIV testing, non-profit booths and vendors selling Native jewelry and food. The 2009 documentary "Two Spirits" will play continuously in the amphitheater.

"Part of why we're doing this is to celebrate LGBTQ people and create a space where we can heal," Lopez said. "Hopefully, they know that Native PFLAG is here to help (and) support them."

One of Native PFLAG's goals, she said, is to bring back "positive traditional teaching of what it meant to be two spirit because we have lost that."

Lopez hopes the two spirit powwow will make a positive impact on Native and non-Native communities across Arizona. Native PFLAG is hosting the powwow with South Mountain Community College and the Phoenix Pride Community Grants program.

Jordan Waquiu, 26, is one of the event's head powwow dancers and she identifies as two spirit. This will be her first time dancing in a big LGBTQ event.

"I want to show that even though we may be two spirit we also take pride in our traditional doings," she said. "We're still true to our roots. We just want to be accepted and not just tolerated."

Waquiu has been a dancer for four years. The style of dance she will do at the event is the fancy shawl, a dance that mimics butterflies in flight with a style that is graceful and light.

"(Powwow) dancing is in all of us Natives. It's something to be proud of.” It’s unique to Indigenous nations, Waquiu said.

Waquiu looks forward to representing the two spirit community as head dancer, and knowing her presence could uplift others from Native communities.

"Hopefully, I can send a positive message to anyone still living on the reservation and show them that anything is possible,” she said. “Help them understand that it's all going to be ok in the end.”

Waquiu is a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo nation from Mesita, NM, where she lives with her husband Vincent.

"I really want them to see that we're not anything bad,” she said. “We should be looked at equal and (as) someone who can bring something positive to the community."

Lopez works with Native PFLAG to educate Native communities about LGBTQ communities.

"There are a lot of people in the Native community, unfortunately, don't even know some of the terms," she said. "Our mission is to educate, advocate and support the community."

She started to get involved with PFLAG after her two oldest children came out as gay in high school.

"That was the beginning of my journey," she said. Coming from a small town on the Navajo Nation, she wasn't educated on the LGBTQ community at all.

"My response wasn't great, and I quickly realized how ignorant I was," she added. "I love my children, I love them, but I just didn't know this thing about them."

Reporter Shondiin Silversmith covers Indigenous people and communities in Arizona. Reach her at ssilversmi@arizonarepublic.com and follow her Twitter @DiinSilversmith.