Meet Indigenous drag artists trying to 'offer hope' to LGBTQ and 2-spirit youth
CBC
Strutting across a stage in size-12 stilettos might seem impossible for many. But for drag queens like Chelazon Leroux, it comes with the territory.
And as an Indigenous drag queen, balancing on high heels isn't the most difficult part of the job.
"[During a Pride event] I did this performance called Fall in Line which was [a song by] Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato. But it was in reference to MMIW," Lerouz told Unreserved host Rosanna Deerchild. "People had no clue what it was. They're like, 'why is there a handprint over your face?'"
Indigenous drag performers like Leroux, who is Dene and two-spirit, have to navigate their identities in places where they're not always accepted. And a rise in anti-LGBTQ and anti-drag sentiment has created an uneasy, and sometimes frightening, environment for drag performers.
In spite of these challenges, Indigenous drag artists are choosing to take up space and represent the queer Indigenous identities they never got to see when they were young.
Drag was put on the pop culture map after Ru Paul's Drag Race launched in 2009. Today, audiences can attend performances ranging from raunchy late night shows to music-filled drag brunches to family-oriented drag storytime events at libraries and bookstores.
But more recently they've been met by anti-drag and anti-trans protests from right-wing groups and, in the United States, Republican legislators.
In recent months, protestors have targeted drag storytime events for children across Canada.
Chelazon Leroux has experienced this backlash first-hand.
"They protested that show that I was doing [in Cold Lake, Alta.] at city hall. It was the biggest city hall attendance in the history of Cold Lake because they wanted to protest my show. And the amount of people that were in support outnumbered those that were being critical and ignorant…. That room was packed."
Leroux said the protestors had made assumptions about who she was and her intentions. In reality, her conversation with the kids in the audience was professional, she said. It was about her lived experience, what it's like being on stage and her favourite makeup brands.
Anita LandBack is a two-spirit Mi'kmaw drag queen based in Halifax. LandBack said that queer Indigenous people need to be visible, not despite the threats or hate directed towards queer people, but because of them.
"With everything going on in the world against trans and non-binary people, right now we need to strengthen numbers the most," they said.
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