Felipa De Leon (native name: Theíčihila Wi) was born on June 1st 1969 in Dowagiac, Michigan, and grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Growing up, she didn’t have a stable home, splitting time between her mom, dad, and grandparents. She moved around a lot, spending time in Manderson, Wyoming, as well as Texas and Indiana. Felipa discovered her attraction to girls at the age of 10 when she had her first kiss with a friend. Afraid of the homophobia displayed in her family, she started dating boys. She married three times and birthed five children. After coming out, she lost her job in early childhood development because administrators thought it was inappropriate for a woman with her sexuality to be around children. 

Monique “Muffie” Mousseau (native name: Canupa Mani Wi), was born on July 11th, 1968, in Harlem, Montana, at an Indian Health Service. She was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Throughout her youth, Muffie competed in rodeo championships, winning awards at national level across the US. She then attained a bachelor’s degree in Education, Associate Arts and later, a Science degree in Natural Resources Management, Pre-engineering. Muffie dedicated her career to law enforcement, working as a police officer, until she left due to being given an ultimatum over her sexuality or career. She chose the former and moved to Rapid City. 

Although they’d briefly met in their teens, Felipa and Muffie first formally met each other at a bar. They knew instantly they were destined to be together, and after a ten-year relationship, wanted to get married. However, their own tribe at the Pine Ridge Reservation refused them a marriage certificate – just one of many discriminations they faced as a couple. The couple eventually received a license in Pennington County, South Dakota and wed at a group ceremony at Mount Rushmore. 

In 2019, the two women began petitioning for changes in the reservation’s law for the benefit of future generations, protections and equality, particularly for fellow Two-Spirit community members. On July 8, 2019, ordinance #19-24 was enacted recognizing Marriage Equality for the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe. Two months later, they were successful with ordinance #19-37, amending the Hate Crime Law to include gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. In 2020, the same protections for LGBTQ+ Native and Two-Spirit people were put in place at the Crow Creek Indian Reservation in South Dakota, followed by South Dakota’s Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Indian Reservation in mid-2022. These historic ordinances now provide crucial protections for all LGBTQ+ Native and Two-Spirit individuals within their community.

Currently residing in Rapid City, South Dakota, Felipa and Muffie are co-founders of Uniting Resilience, a non-profit organization who works to establish laws of protection and rights for marriage equality through cultural and educational interaction with all indigenous tribes, cities, counties, states, and schools. Their dedication to cultural education and activism has left a lasting impact on LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit rights within Native American communities.