Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race | Vogue 1/8/24, 5:17 PM

FA S H I O N

Indigenous Queen Ilona

Verley On Bringing Two-
Spirit Representation to
Canada’s Drag Race
BY CHRISTIAN ALLAIRE
August 31, 2020

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Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race | Vogue 1/8/24, 5:17 PM

Photo: Fernando Cysneiros

As soon as Ilona Verley sashayed into the workroom on the first episode of
Canada’s Drag Race, it was clear that the Vancouver-based queen would be a fierce
competitor. “Alright, party girls, I’m about to let these whores have it,” she
exclaims into her phone, then tossing it aside for dramatic effect. But in addition
to the fiery entrance—and her striking, monochromatic drag looks that followed
—Verley brought something else unique to the season: representation for
Indigenous, Two-Spirit queens. The 25-year-old, who is Nlaka'pamux, made
history as the first Indigenous Two-Spirit queen to compete on the reality series.
(Two-Spirits are Indigenous people who identify with both male and female
spirits.) Though she did not end up winning the grand prize, competing on the
series still proved to be a surreal experience for the Canadian queen. “For me, Drag
Race has always been the ultimate goal,” she says.

In the past, Verley has auditioned for season 11 and season 12 of the U.S. series.
She never made the cut, though she found a silver lining in being able to star on
the Canadian counterpart this summer (available to stream on WOW Presents
Plus.) “I realized, being on Canada’s Drag Race [was] more of a place where I was
going to be able to talk about being Indigenous,” she says. “When I was living in
L.A., so many people I met didn't even know what ‘Indigenous’ meant. They're

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Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race | Vogue 1/8/24, 5:17 PM

like, ‘What's an Indigenous person?’” Growing up in Surrey, British Columbia,

Verley was equally confused about her own cultural identity. “I had no one to look
at on TV that was like me. I went through this whole phase in high school, feeling
like I had to be white passing to be successful,” she says. In 2015, she then
developed a love for drag as a means to express herself as a Two-Spirit person. She
says competing on Drag Race also allowed herself to fully accept her identity as a
proud, Indigenous trans woman. “Being on the show helped me connect with my
inner self that I was always trying to ignore,” says Verley. “I went in there being
very open about viewing myself as non-binary, and by the end of it, I walked away
feeling confident and understanding of myself. I was able to come home, have a
conversation with my mom, and say, ‘I’m trans.’”

Photo: Fernando Cysneiros Photo: @ilonasmom

On the show, the enigmatic drag style that she’s developed over the past five years
was on full display. Her signature looks always include “monochromatic pastel

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Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race | Vogue 1/8/24, 5:17 PM

realness,” Verley says, adding, “I’m like those crazy, eclectic old ladies that just wear
one color.” Her looks for Drag Race were created in collaboration with her friend
Evan Clayton, a designer based in Vancouver. “He’s been a godsend for me,” she
says. “I can sew, but I don’t like to sew.” Exploring her culture through drag,
however, is somewhat new territory for Verley, as it’s something she only started
doing over the past year. She felt like she could only explore her culture through
style when she felt educated enough to do so. “I wasn't as knowledgeable as I could
have been with my culture [when I was younger],” she says. “My grandma was in a
residential school, so talking about our culture around the house was never really a
thing. It had a triggering sense to it.” (Many Indigenous people were forcibly sent
to residential schools in Canada from the 1870s to the 1990s, where they were
stripped of their culture and forced to assimilate to white, Christian values.)

Verley now finds pride in learning more about her cultural traditions, and
channeling them into her drag looks. In the finale episode of Drag Race, for
instance, Verley sported a take on a traditional ribbon skirt and jingle dress, two
garments that are often worn by dancers at powwow ceremonies. “The whole look
is all pink, to represent my identity as a trans female,” she says. “It’s really special to
me because we repurposed my Drag Mother Quanah Style’s jingle dress for the
outfit.” Both Verley and Quanah continue to be some of Vancouver’s most well-
known queens, and while the drag community is small in the city, both performers
bring unique energy to it by infusing their Indigenous heritages into their stage
looks. “She has such a strong sense of self and her identity that shines through her
drag,” says Quanah, who is Cree, of Verley. “I think her biggest strength as a
performer is her ability to emote. She can capture her audience through her art
and expression.”

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Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race | Vogue 1/8/24, 5:17 PM

Vancouver queens Julie Vu, Ilona Verley, Quanah Style, and BamBam Photo: @ilonaverley

Now that the show has wrapped, Verley has a busy schedule of projects to look
forward to for the rest of the year. She hinted at the prospect of working on music,
and will also be gearing up for some performances as venues begin to open up
again. “It’s exciting to get back on stage. For me, performing is like therapy,” she

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Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race | Vogue 1/8/24, 5:17 PM

says. “It’s a way for me to express whatever I’m feeling—and now, I’m feeling the
Drag Race girl fantasy.” You can be sure that she will continue using her platform
to spread awareness about her roots, too. She believes drag holds the power to
educate others. “I can sit and talk about being Indigenous until I’m blue in the
face, but people are visual learners,” says Verley. “When they see something that's
pleasing to their eyes, 9 times out of 10, they're more interested in learning more.”

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Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race | Vogue 1/8/24, 5:17 PM

Photo: Fernando Cysneiros

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Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race | Vogue 1/8/24, 5:17 PM

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