Editing Chrystos (section)

==Life==
Chrystos was born [[Off-reservation trust land|off-reservation]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]],<ref name="Brehm 1998 73–82">{{Cite journal|last=Brehm|first=Victoria|date=1998|title=Urban Survivor Stories: The Poetry of Chrystos|journal=Studies in American Indian Literatures|volume=10|issue=1|pages=73–82|jstor=20739440|issn=0730-3238}}</ref> was taught to read by their self-educated father, and began writing poetry at age nine. Chrystos had a difficult childhood, including being [[Sexual abuse|sexually abused]] by a relative.<ref name="Brehm 1998 73–82"/> 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 [[Substance use disorder|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.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=Miller |first=A. |date=November 11, 2017 |title=Chrystos |url=https://www.makingqueerhistory.com/articles/2017/11/11/chrystos |website=Making Queer History}}</ref> 

Chrystos is a [[lesbian]] and [[two-spirit]]. They moved to [[Bainbridge Island, Washington]] in 1980.<ref name=":1" /> They have been a resident of [[Ocean Shores, Washington]] since 2011.<ref name=":1" />