Argintina Hailey half expected Morley Pride 2017 posters she put up at locations in the Stoney Nakoda First Nation to have been torn down.
A year earlier, Hailey, who is a two-spirit drag queen, promoted the inaugural Morley Pride as the first openly celebrated two-spirit pride event on an Alberta First Nation reserve.
It was an utter success and a follow up event was held in January; but still, Hailey casually checked up on the posters promoting the upcoming Aug. 19 event, just in case.
Growing up on the rez is hard and being Indigenous and two-spirited presents an entirely different set of challenges.
Hailey is a two-spirit individual, which in a sense is someone who understands both male and female aspects of human beings.
So far though, Hailey’s relieved the posters have remained in place and her vision of bringing the community together in unity for a night is still accepted.
The second annual Morley Pride takes place Saturday (Aug. 19) in the Chill Room at Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino, 30 kilometres east of Canmore. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts 8 p.m.
Dubbed the “Retro Drag Cabaret,” performers quickly filled available slots for the evening including star of the show Vancouver’s Jaylene Tyme, a two-spirit celebrity impersonator.
Morley Pride 2017 will also feature onstage performances from local talent such as Hailey, Miss Ellen Q and the Pumas, Chi Chi Stevens and drag king Mo B. Dick, as well as a talent showcase.
“My favourite part of Morley Pride is the community gathering, the community celebrating a night of pride, celebrating two-spirit, celebrating a unity and all the togetherness and gathering of all different walks of life coming through that door,” said Hailey a member of the Wesley First Nation – one of the three Stoney Nakoda bands.
“That’s what makes me feel great about the whole show itself.”
Hailey found the balancing act between being a flamboyant onstage performer and worrisome promoter on the night of the show has its struggles.
It’s constant anxiety as to whether everything is going according to plan while also trying to remember her regal dance routine onstage.
All the fuss, commotion and concern is temporary though, and Hailey has found genuine comfort in knowing Morley Pride helps create a longer lasting dialogue in the community.
For some, the event opens up acceptance not seen there before and moves Morley toward becoming an inclusive community in which two-spirit people are an active part.
“Sometimes in our community people don’t know how to react to who they are so in order to suppress those feelings they, of course, turn to alcohol and drugs and some of them have taken their lives because of it,” said Hailey.
“When the second show happened (last January) and more and more people showed up than the first, and elders and older members of the community came out, it kind of opened my eyes.”
“The community does care, the community will stand behind us and not be set back in their old ways of us being judged about who we are. That whole mindset, I think it’s sort of breaking away a bit, where people are more accepting and more open-minded.”
Hailey has been performing in drag for 17 years and her old school style has helped her achieve titles such as Miss Gay Canada and Miss Gay Calgary, among others.
This year, Hailey teamed up with Steve Kootenay and Mount Royal University’s Iniskim Centre to put on Morley Pride.
“(Iniskim Centre members are) helping coordinate and getting the word out,” said Hailey. “They’ve joined the team and are working with the Calgary Foundation to get us a grant to help cut the costs, so that was a big burden off my shoulders.”
For Hailey, it’s hard to conceive she’s about to promote a third two-spirit pride event for Stoney Nakoda.
Being praised in her community is still somewhat foreign to Hailey, who experienced ridicule for her lifestyle, but she is now being approached and asked when is she going to have another event.
“I was like, ‘OK, I shouldn’t be so close minded and be scared to come out and be who I am,’ because obviously the people came out to support what I’m doing and to support the two-spirit community,” said Hailey.
Evidence of this new acceptance is showing, even when it’s not in person; Morley Pride posters placed around the community are still up and still promoting two-spirit pride.
Advanced tickets for Morley Pride 2017 are $20 and can be purchased at Canmore’s Hello Vintage, Banff’s The Last Temptation Thrift Shop, Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino, Morley’s Stoney Trading Post, and Cochrane’s Your Life Out. Tickets at the door will be $25. Senior (65+) tickets are $10.
Tickets can also be purchased online at eventbrite.ca.
