Notes on Kaúxuma Núpika and other Warrior Women
Ktunaxa Nation Kaúxuma Núpika (also known as Qánqon Kámek Klaúla) is an extraordinary figure from the history of the Ktunaxa Nation, being the subject of Schaeffer's (1965) "The Kutenai Female Berdache: Courier, Guide, Prophetess, and Warrior". Living during the early 19th Century, Kaúxuma Núpika was an apparently normal girl, albeit large in stature. However, she quickly became dissatisfied with her marriage to a White man, and thereafter claimed he had transformed her into a man. From that moment on, Kaúxuma Núpika lived as a man, having a series of several wives, becoming a Prophetess and Warrior. Although Kaúxuma Núpika's life history differs from the classic childhood onset trajectory, there are similarities between this case and the South African gangster Gertie "Johnny" Williams (Chetty, 2013a) (Chetty, 2013b). The following are excerpts from Schaeffer (1965): "Turning next to the subject of abnormal sexual behavior among women in the Northern P...