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Transcript/Script US - Indigenous Drag Show
HEADLINE: Indigenous Drag Queens Combine Politics and Glitter
TEASER: Santa Fe show addresses Native American issues
PUBLISHED AT: 11/05/2023 at 2:07 pm
BYLINE: Gustavo Martínez Contreras
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Santa Fe, New Mexico
VIDEOGRAPHER: Gustavo Martínez Contreras
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Stearns
SCRIPT EDITORS: Stearns, Mia Bush, David Jones
VIDEO SOURCE (S):
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:45
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO:))
[[More than a dozen U.S. states have enacted or introduced legislation to restrict drag shows. It is the product of socially conservative momentum against shows where performers who are mostly men dress mostly as women. Gustavo Martínez Contreras reports for VOA from a unique show in New Mexico that blends the pageantry of drag with Native American culture.]]
((NARRATOR))
Performers in the La La Land Back tour are entertaining and educating audiences about Native American culture through the art of Indigenous drag.
The tour is led by drag queens Lady Shug, from the Diné tribe, and Landa Lakes, who is Chickasaw. This show at a Santa Fe contemporary art museum is meant to raise awareness about issues, including murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, and efforts to reestablish Indigenous sovereignty in ancestral lands.
((Lady Shug, Drag Queen))
“For me and Landa, this is our moment for us to be activists. We’re doing it through an art form that we know, which is through queerness, through our drag art form. So we intertwine our culture. We’re bringing political movements and different things that normally people don’t see in a bar setting or at Pride or even just in their homes until they come to our show.”
((NARRATOR))
Landa Lakes’ drag name references the use of Native American mascots in marketing, in this case Land O’Lakes butter. Lakes says socially conservative legislation targeting drag shows is dangerous because it portrays LGBTQ communities as abnormal.
((Landa Lakes, Drag Queen))
“Somehow drag queens become something that’s inhuman and not quite agreeing with everybody else. When, in fact, we represent all walks of life, from being accountants to working in clubs, to even being teachers.”
((NARRATOR))
The tour is also an opportunity to highlight Indigenous talent who have limited opportunities to perform, including Katie K. Bouvier from the Laguna Pueblo.
((Katie K. Bouvier, Drag Queen))
“To show my Indigenous art there has great importance because a lot of people in some parts of New Mexico, in some parts of Colorado and other states don’t believe Indigenous people still exist for whatever reason that might be. And I’m wanting to be here to show them we’re still here, we’re still resilient, and there’s nothing you can do that’s going to get rid of us.”
((NARRATOR))
Joseph Nieto from the Cuba Pueblo says the show changed the way he thinks about drag.
((Joseph Nieto, Audience Member))
“This, tonight, was amazing! It actually allowed me to see the world in a different perspective. I’ve always wanted to see a drag show. This is actually my first drag show ever. And I was not disappointed. I’m looking forward to many more drag shows.”
((NARRATOR))
Lady Shug and Landa Lakes say they are working to normalize Indigenous drag because Native Americans are often overlooked in LGBTQ communities.
((Gustavo Martínez Contreras, VOA News, Santa Fe, New Mexico))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Embargo DateNovember 5, 2023 22:28 EST
Byline
Gustavo Martínez Contreras, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
