“You can definitely expect polish—polished queens.” ~ Cedar T
Thanks to RuPaul Charles and her Drag Race franchise phenomena, drag performances are enjoying monumental popularity around the Globe. This includes the Yukon, where the Pride Drag Brunch, hosted by Queer Yukon, sold out before Mama Ru could say, “Ladies, start your engines, and may the best Drag Queen win!”
For those lucky enough to get a ticket, the family-friendly event will feature several Two-Spirit drag queens, including three members of Indigi-Hauz of Beaver Hills, a collective of Indigi-queer performance artists based in Edmonton. Cedar T, MayTea and Misty Luxxx will each bring her own mix of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to the brunch.
Out of drag, Cedar T is Kisik Whiskeyjack and the director of Indigi-Hauz, which was recently incorporated as a non-profit society. Culturally and creatively, Cedar T is a drag mother to some of the queens.
“Especially for Two-Spirit visibility, Indigi-Hauz provides that platform for anyone who is an Indigi-queer performance artist,” said Cedar T. “So we expand beyond just drag queens … We encourage burlesque performers, powwow dance performance artists, and drag kings. So there’s room for everyone. And some of the house members actually do all that.”
Misty Luxxx and MayTea are both drag daughters to Cedar T, who mentors them in drag fundamentals such as makeup, hair and fashion.
“You can definitely expect polish—polished queens,” Cedar T said of her drag family. “My daughters are an extension of my own creativity and art; they’re a reflection of me as an artist.”
As a drag mother, Cedar T also takes representation seriously and is careful to emulate Indigenous femininity in a way that’s acceptable to aunties, kokum (Cree for “grandmothers”), sisters and nieces.
“What I like to try to teach is setting by example, to do so in a respectful way—not to exaggerate in ways that are disrespectful, like oversexualizing.”
The Indigi-Hauz drag queens are relatively new to performing, but each can recall being drawn to drag when they were young.
For example, MayTea remembers that, as a child, she would give lip-sync performances in the basement, with her cousins. Later, in her thirties, she watched RuPaul’s Drag Race, with her mom.
“I always thought to myself, I want to do this. I want to do this.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, MayTea moved back to her home in the Métis settlement of Buffalo Lake, north of Edmonton. The solitude provided her with an opportunity to dabble with makeup, and she started taking testosterone blockers.
“I’m not sure if I was bored or it was more giving me a sense of having a safe space in order to do this.”
At 43, MayTea may be a latecomer to drag, but she says she’s starting at a time when the community is more accepting of Indigenous drag queens than it was 20 years ago.
“I found that queer spaces in the early 2000s weren’t for Indigenous folks,” she said. “Because I’m light-skinned, it was easier to not say what my ethnicity was. And there wasn’t a lot of Indigenous drag queens at the time … I think one or two. And, usually, when they came on and performed, they were made fun of.”
Misty Luxxx has recently returned to drag, after a long hiatus. She was originally drawn to performing in early adulthood because she loved being onstage, even though it terrified her. Her willingness to overcome her fear of performing drag has paid off in other aspects of her life.
“Doing something new that terrified me,” she said. “So, I have social anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder, and as soon as I get into persona (at that point I was Felicia Pride), as soon as I got into Felicia, I no longer had those issues. So I was able to really step outside of myself and become a completely new person and explore new things outside of my norm, in ways I didn’t think I’d be able to.”
“And then that just expanded into my regular life or my everyday life, a little bit more so.”
While her drag persona may take her outside herself, Misty Luxxx retains her Indigenous identity in her drag persona and performances.
“I’m always really excited about my name,” she said. “I’m Gitxsan. We’re from Gitanmaax. So Gitxsan means ‘people from the misty river.’ So I got my first name—Misty—from that, and Luxxx was given to me by my drag mother, Cedar.”
“I try to incorporate an Indigenous aspect to everything I do,” Misty explained. “If it’s not part of the music, it’s part of the beaded earrings, the lashes, the outfits that I’m wearing, or some form of Indigenous representation when I’m doing my performances.”
Similar to her drag daughters, Cedar T took up drag in the last few years. However, she has always expressed her Two-Spirit identity.
“I think it started when I was very young. I just have a real affinity for feminine roles per se, from the colonial context or view on gender. I would play with girls, dress up as a girl … Even for powwow dance, I would gravitate towards the dance category of Women’s Fancy, and more recently I would dress up on Halloween and spend the whole month of October coming up with a look. In 2017, I was Avatar; and in 2018, I won first place—I was Mystique from X-Men—and then, from there, I just realized I had a knack for creativity.”
Cedar T’s drag style reflects the polish she referred to earlier.
“In terms of fashion, from me, you can expect designers,” she said. “I love to collaborate with local designers who’ve also showcased their collections in Toronto Fashion Week, Western Canada Fashion Week, Vancouver Fashion Week—even New York and Fiji.
“We recognize Indigenous designers. I’ve bought about five pieces from different designers. I’ve been waiting for a gig like this to showcase them.”
Cedar T said that the trio has been discussing what they’ll be performing at the Drag Brunch. She doesn’t give too much away, but the audience can expect a storytelling element woven through the drag numbers.
The Indigi-Hauz drag family is as excited to meet Yukoners as we are to see them perform.
“I want to acknowledge Selene [Vakharia] at Yukon Pride for offering this platform,” Cedar T said. “For us to be able to showcase our art and our storytelling through this artform, we’re just so happy and excited.”
SIDEBAR
For more, check these out:
Indigi-Hauz of Beaver Hills: facebook.com/indigihauz
Cedar T’s Avatar lip-sync performance, Freebird YEG Entertainment: vimeo.com/549194922
Cedar T Instagram: instagram.com/kisik.whiskeyjack/
MayTea (non-drag name Jamie Bourque) Instagram: instagram.com/jamie_metis/
Misty Luxxx Instagram: instagram.com/m.i.s.t.y.l.u.x.x.x/?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg%3D%3DQueer Yukon:facebook.com/QueerYukon
