about

photo by Oliver Vy Nguyen

Growing along the shores of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, under the gaze of Mt. Tahoma, near the banks of the Duwamish River, and in valleys between Chumash and Tongva mountains, Rafael/a Luna-Pizano (he/him/siya) is a bakla/trans descendant of Ilocano, Visaya, Xicana, and Chiricahua-Apache peoples. Creating and flowing between healing practices that center TBIPOC (trans, black-indigenous, people of color) liberation, Rafael/a has offered bodywork and reproductive care to his communities for over a decade, while cultivating a creative research practice that is grounded in his experience of Indigenous Knowledge and ceremonies. After recently completing his PhD at the University of Waikato (Aotearoa-NZ) that focused on embodied Indigenous strategies for trans liberation, he now researches and teaches with organizations locally and internationally to protect and uplift the future of Two Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people everywhere.