Chrystos

Chrystos (; born November 7, 1946, as Christina Smith) is a two-spirit writer and activist whose work explores Native American civil rights, social justice, and feminism. They are of mixed Menominee–Lithuanian/Alsace–Lorraine heritage. Chrystos is also a lecturer, writing teacher, and artist.

==Life== Chrystos was born off-reservation in San Francisco, California, was taught to read by their self-educated father, and began writing poetry at age nine. Chrystos had a difficult childhood, including being sexually abused by a relative. They lived with their abusive mother, Virginia (née Lunkes), who was of Lithuanian and Alsatian descent, and their father of Menominee heritage, Fletcher L. Smith, who was a World War II veteran. At the age of seventeen, Chrystos was placed into a psychiatric hospital. They fell into drug addiction, alcoholism, and prostitution during this time. They were re-institutionalized several more times before deciding it was ineffective in helping their mental health issues.