Growing up, Ella Lamoureux always had a fascination with drag 乌鸦传媒� she described it as an escapism that allowed her to experiment more with her femininity.
乌鸦传媒淏ut I never wanted to do drag because I had this sense of shame of femininity because I always dressed a bit feminine,乌鸦传媒� said Lamoureux, whose 乌鸦传媒渃olonial name乌鸦传媒� is Dustin Dufault.
乌鸦传媒淢y father essentially was like, 乌鸦传媒楾his is who you can乌鸦传媒檛 be.乌鸦传媒� So, anytime I wanted to do drag, I just pushed it aside 乌鸦传媒� this isn乌鸦传媒檛 something that I want to do.乌鸦传媒�
Originally from Ross River, Yukon, Lamoureux is a member of the Kaska Dena First Nation and identifies as Two-Spirit, a term that refers to an Indigenous person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit.
乌鸦传媒淚 separated Dustin and Ella quite strongly when I was younger. One乌鸦传媒檚 the feminine side of me; one乌鸦传媒檚 the more masculine side of me,乌鸦传媒� she said.
乌鸦传媒淎s I became more accepting of myself and my culture, I realized that they乌鸦传媒檙e one and the same.乌鸦传媒�
When she was 19, Lamoureux watched a performance by Two-Spirit drag queen Argentina Hailey in Calgary, with whom she recently performed at Banff乌鸦传媒檚 Indigiqueer Drag Show on Oct. 9.
乌鸦传媒淎 lot of my journey is because of seeing him,乌鸦传媒� said Lamoureux.
In 2012, Lamoureux created a drag scene in Kelowna alongside her friend and fellow drag queen Sasha Zamolodchikova. Drag at first, Lamoureux said, was a way for her to explore and figure out who she was.
乌鸦传媒淲hat I learned about myself is that I can embrace my femininity; there乌鸦传媒檚 no shame in it. There is power in obviously both sides of the spectrum 乌鸦传媒� masculine and feminine,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut what I乌鸦传媒檝e learned is just knowledge of myself.乌鸦传媒�
Now, she said drag is a continuing example of who she is and who she can inspire.
乌鸦传媒淚 like to inspire people,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淪eeing a healthy Two-Spirit person excelling 乌鸦传媒� that乌鸦传媒檚 what I want other Two-Spirit people to see.乌鸦传媒�
READ MORE: Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 drag story
There are now around 30 drag performers 乌鸦传媒� both kings and queens 乌鸦传媒� in Kelowna who thrive off of the scene that Lamoureux helped create. One of them is fellow Indigenous drag queen Jenna Telz, who乌鸦传媒檚 also known as Grayson Nordgren.
In her debut performance in 2016, Telz won Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 Next Drag Superstar, a competition that Lamoureux created. But in the summer of 2015, Telz, a queer person raised in a Jehovah乌鸦传媒檚 Witness household, was kicked out of her house by her parents at the age of 20.
乌鸦传媒淚 basically started trying to do drag six months after I got kicked out. It was the thing that saved my life,乌鸦传媒� said Telz.
乌鸦传媒淏eing kicked out by my parents, I was so suicidal. I lost everything overnight 乌鸦传媒� I lost my family, my friends, my job, my home. It was really hard to build back from that. It was through drag that I was able to figure that out.乌鸦传媒�
Similar to what Lamoureux had done, Telz further established a name for herself by organizing and hosting her own drag shows in town, which not only gave her the opportunity to perform but gave other queens a stage as well.
乌鸦传媒淓lla created a platform for so many people to start drag, and eventually, those people created a space and an environment that I was able to start drag in,乌鸦传媒� said Telz. 乌鸦传媒淚 went and did the same thing.乌鸦传媒�
Born in Quesnel, Telz is Cree from the Papaschase First Nation in Edmonton, Alta. And while she said that she identifies as gay 乌鸦传媒渋n white terms,乌鸦传媒� she also identifies as Two-Spirit.
乌鸦传媒淏ut that term means something different for everyone. It乌鸦传媒檚 easiest for me to describe it as I identify as a gay man who dresses up in drag,乌鸦传媒� said Telz.
Drag not only gave Telz control over her life, but she said that it gave her the confidence that she lost after being kicked out of her home.
乌鸦传媒淕rowing up, being a Jehovah乌鸦传媒檚 Witness, there was a lot of things you can乌鸦传媒檛 do because the religion says it乌鸦传媒檚 a no-no,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淒rag, to me, was the complete opposite of that. That was embracing who I was for the first time and being able to express myself however I wanted to.乌鸦传媒�
Both Telz and Lamoureux, the top-performing drag queens in Kelowna, are drag 乌鸦传媒渕others乌鸦传媒� running their own drag 乌鸦传媒渉ouses.乌鸦传媒� The terms refer to pocket communities within drag, in which a drag mother takes a budding drag queen under their wing and mentors them.
乌鸦传媒淵ou teach them etiquette, teach them manners or you help them with makeup. You help them along their drag journey,乌鸦传媒� said Lamoureux.
乌鸦传媒淚 have people that are under my belt that I help get into drag to help finesse their art, just like (Telz) has a lot of drag children under hers 乌鸦传媒� double what I have.乌鸦传媒�
And while she dreams of being an internationally renowned drag queen someday, Lamoureux said that her goal is to become a Two-Spirit spokesperson in Canada in the future.
乌鸦传媒淏ut I never wanted my drag to do that part. I do feel like my drag will eventually let me get to being a Two-Spirit talker across Canada, which I乌鸦传媒檓 hoping is,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut what I mean when I say I don乌鸦传媒檛 want to get my drag involved is I don乌鸦传媒檛 want to have to get into drag to have a Two-Spirit talk with someone. I want to be able to go as myself.乌鸦传媒�
For Telz, she said that her favourite thing about being a drag queen is the platform it provides her to educate people on several topics that she乌鸦传媒檚 passionate about, including politics, Indigenous issues and the history of colonization.
Before the pandemic, she said she would meet with youth groups or high schools and share her experiences with them.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 someone with some pretty passionate views on things. I feel like, because I乌鸦传媒檓 a drag queen, people listen to me and it gives me an opportunity to use my voice and help impact the world around me,乌鸦传媒� said Telz.
And as a drag queen, she said that she乌鸦传媒檚 accomplished her biggest goal of making an impact. She described having 13 drag children and watching them do what they do as one of her biggest joys.
乌鸦传媒淚 just honestly want to do this for as long as I can,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚 think now, I乌鸦传媒檓 more focused on myself and where I want to take my drag. I think my goal is the journey itself.乌鸦传媒�
She added that it乌鸦传媒檚 when people tell her that she乌鸦传媒檚 made a difference in their lives that makes her cry.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 why I do it. This is why I do it. It乌鸦传媒檚 for those moments,乌鸦传媒� she said.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 the moments where I乌鸦传媒檝e been able to empower someone or help someone else. Those are the moments I care about.乌鸦传媒�
READ MORE: Kelowna drag queen to step onto national stage
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