‘Canada’s Drag Race’ queen Ilona Verley tells ‘Vogue’ about making history on the reality series

When Canada’s Drag Race (Thursdays at 9ET on Crave) premiered earlier this summer, it not only marked the first Canadian version of the hugely popular reality show, it also broke new ground thanks to the queens that brought their infectious energy and performances to the small screen. Notably, BC native Ilona Verley made history the moment she sashayed onto the screen and became the first Indigenous Two-Spirit queen to compete on the reality show. Verley, who is Nlaka'pamux, spoke to Vogue this month about her groundbreaking appearance and what her representation on the massive platform means not only to viewers, but to her own understanding of her identity.Although she was eliminated three weeks before the finale and finished sixth during the show’s inaugural season, Verley told Vogue that being part of the reality series and getting to representing her heritage and gender identity on a national scale was an achievement of her "ultimate goal.""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 said of her childhood, noting that after two unsuccessful auditions for RuPaul's Drag Race in the U.S., CDR was where she was meant to be. “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. When I was living in L.A., so many people I met didn't even know what ‘Indigenous’ meant. They're like, ‘What's an Indigenous person?’”

 

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“Not everybody wins, But everybody tries” ???? Drag race has been my ultimate dream for so long that even now it’s hard to accept that it’s finally my reality! I did the thing, I made my wildest dreams come true. I went into this experience honestly being so thankful to finally be apart of the drag race family that I wasn’t really gunning for the top... I went in with a mission to do my best & to represent for queer indigenous people & nonbinary / trans* people; Growing up I had no one to watch on tv that was like me, so to be able to be my queer native self on a main stream media platform, that for me is way better than 100,000$ or a crown on my head! At the end of the day I’m extremely proud of myself for how far I made it & my heart is truly at peace! ???? I wouldn’t have been able to have made it this far without the incredible people that got me ready for this journey so thank you so fucking much to each of you for what you did to make sure I was ready to be a drag race girl! My parents @daddydring @ilonasmom & @quanahstyle MY COUSIN AND AUDITION TAPE MAKER @heroesofhers My designers @evanclayton & @hauszuk My ride or dies @poutine_queen & @catherinelongxo My SOUNDING BOARDS @lunalaunch @rainemeadows @dck_whr And everyone else who helped me rhinestone and keep my head on my shoulders leading up to the race! ???? Original Gown by @mistymeadows.gurl Altered myself & @arachnobite Jewelry & top by @ampedaccessories Hair by @awesomebitchwig Photos by @fcysneiros / @thedragseries Assist @japantara ???? My time on the show might be over... (for now) but remember PARTY GIRLS NEVER DIE!

A post shared by ILONA VERLEY (@ilonaverley) on Aug 13, 2020 at 6:57pm PDT

Being Two-Spirit is an Indigenous identity that refers to a person who identifies with both masculine and feminine spirits. Verley’s appearance on Canada’s Drag Race has helped not only viewers better understand Two-Spirit people, but Verley understand herself. The 25-year-old queen was asked to sashay away after landing in the bottom two for a second time and being eliminated after lip syncing “Hello” by Allie X in front of the singer and guest judge, but her takeaway remains overwhelmingly positive. “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.’”[video_embed id='-1']RELATED: Eliminated queen Ilona Verley reflects on participating in ‘Canada’s Drag Race’s first pageant [/video_embed]Joining the drag community in 2015, Verley says it wasn’t until this past year that she and her collaborator, Vancouver-based designer Evan Clayton, started working more of her culture into her gowns and performances—including the jingle dress Verley wore during the finale of Canada’s Drag Race. “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,” said Verley.

 

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“NO MORE STOLEN SISTERS” ???? If you are not familiar with the term MMIW I suggest you get familiar. Canada has a really bad problem with missing & murdered indigenous women not getting the media recognition they deserve. 1000’s of indigenous women have been taken from the streets and even their homes over the last half century. When are indigenous women going to stop being stolen on our own stolen land? Please invest yourself in learning how you can do your part to get involved & stay educated! ???? I’ve never felt more powerful and beautiful than I did in this look. I worked with the amazing @teka_everstz & @i_am.pun on this piece to incorporate aspects of jingle & fancy as those are two very prominent First Nations female dance categories and I wanted this look to really pull from multiple aspects of the First Nations woman. We reworked parts of my drag mother @quanahstyle ‘s jingle dress (originally by @tajhouseoftalents who also provided the eagle feathers for this) into this look so I would have a piece of her with me while filming and could represent a part of her as my chosen family with the tootoosis family crest, as to me chosen family is just as important as my blood family, my nlaka'pamux people. The pink hues in this look are to represent the divine feminine energy 2 spirit people hold as well as to visualize myself coming into my own as a trans woman. Embracing my culture as part of my art has been a scary journey but I know in my heart it is important to embrace what we can while we are able too. So much of the beauty in indigenous cultures has been lost thru the years so if incorporating jingles and ribbon work into my drag in a respectful way can keep these things documented so years from now people can still know what’s up, I think that’s pretty damn cool. ???? Fabrics used were Twill & Silk With Metalic Leather, All the fringe was hand cut by mom and I as well as the braiding down the sleeves and the headband / bracelet. The longhouse paddles added to the chest piece were from my pipe carrier blessing when I was just a little baby! Thank you so much @thedragseries for capturing these powerful photos @voguemagazine

A post shared by ILONA VERLEY (@ilonaverley) on Aug 31, 2020 at 3:13pm PDT

Verley is now more open to speaking with others about her culture, adding that viewers getting to see an Indigenous queen physically on TV will open up even more dialogue. “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.”Catch up on the first season of Canada’s Drag Race anytime on Crave and watch new episodes every Thursday at 9E/6P.[video_embed id='2024484']ICYMI: Can weTalk About… ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ S1E9 with Jimbo [/video_embed]