Olivia DeSersa was born on April 2, 1965 in Rosebud, South Dakota. Her father ran a local newspaper and her mother worked as a nurse and health director in Coyote Clinic. Her parents lived for some time in Rapid City before moving the family to the Pine Ridge reservation, close to where her mother grew up. She grew up as the youngest of 6 siblings, and her parents brought them up with a mix of Catholic and Lakota cultures.
Olivia’s childhood was overshadowed by the 3-year massacre of members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) by the Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOON), led by Tribal Chairman Richard Wilson with assistance from the FBI. In 1973, after AIM members reoccupied Wounded Knee for 10 weeks in protest of corruption and local murders, there were over 60 violent deaths and 350 serious assaults reported in Pine Ridge, including Olivia’s brother, Byron DeSersa, killed on January 31, 1976. Olivia remembers pleading with Byron the night he drove off to face his attackers; their family never drove anywhere without an AIM escort to protect them. Despite early exposure to such violence, Olivia credits the example her parents set by always negotiating conflicts with peace and honor, leading her to face any of life’s challenges with the same calmness.
Since Olivia was 4 years old, her grandmother could tell that she was different, and named her Wicazipa, or Honey Bee. Olivia was a tomboy growing up, has always been incredibly devoted to caring for both the young and the elderly across her extended family, and has always occupied and excelled at male-dominated professions. Olivia’s family told her that, historically, two-spirit people have been caretakers for extended family and thus integral parts of the community. Olivia resonated with being two-spirit, and identifies as an Ola Latoka two-spirit lesbian. Her family supports and celebrates this identity with her to this day.
After leaving home for college, Olivia then left school to care for her mother when she fell ill. Back home, Olivia started exploring doing fancy dance with eagle feathers. Eagle feathers are traditionally only worn by men during fancy dance in Powwows, but with her mother’s support and advocacy, Olivia quickly became well known and well loved across the community for doing men’s fancy dance while identifying as a two-spirit female.
In her 20s, Olivia and her then-girlfriend moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to get some distance from the girlfriend’s family, who did not accept the relationship. Through her adulthood, she also lived in Denver, Colorado and Lincoln, Nebraska. Across different jobs, cities, and relationships, Olivia always sought out queer spaces and maintained a close circle of lesbian friends. All this time, Olivia knew that she would return to Sioux Falls, which she did eventually to again take care of her aging mother’s health and spend time with extended family. Her mother asked her to keep the home welcome and open to anyone who wanted to stay, and Olivia happily obliges to this day as she continues to look after her extended family and community, never hesitating to offer someone a roof or a bite to eat.
Notably, Olivia’s care and generosity extends beyond biological family. She mentors, guides, and protects two-spirit children and youth in her community. She speaks about the ongoing violence, stigma, and struggles that two-spirit people disproportionately have to face every day. To support others going through all this (and herself), she tells us that, as her parents would do, she lets go of the anger by looking after and laughing with her family. Olivia remains very close to her daughter and her extended family, and continues to love, laugh, and share her heartwarming stories with all those lucky enough to be around her.
