Tugs

“Yeah, I just call myself a drag artist. I haven't really found another catchy term. I guess it depends if I'm presenting masculine or feminine. Some days I’m more a king as Uncle Tugs, some days I'm more queen as Aunty Tugs. Aunty Tugs really was born out of me stepping back and saying “No, I'm not just a king, stop putting me in a box”. But I also have no shame about being a “king”. I like being part of that community because it's so underrepresented within the realm of drag. And that's partially why Tugs was born. Because I don't see my style of drag on TV or in the mainstream. I don't see a lot of Indigenous representation also within the intersection of both masculine and feminine. ”

“I think I would give someone who's like wanting to try drag and was curious about drag, just go for it. I think that my biggest advice is just go for it. Find something that brings you joy in life, and use that to inform your drag character, your drag persona. For me, it's my Indigeneity, my Indigeneity brings me great joy. And so that's why it's at the heart of Tugs. I might be wearing a silly rocker wig with, you know, my silly moustache, but always have some beadwork or some sort of element of my Indigeneity within my drag. So I really encourage folks to explore their own interests, and maybe parts of themselves that they wish that they could dive into but it feels like out of reach. That's where drag comes in. For me, I'm not a creative person, or at least I shouldn't say that. For many years, I was conditioned to believe that I wasn't a creative person. And so my encouragement to folks who want to try drag is to don't let that limit you. Don't let other people's perceptions or views impact your interest or don't let it stop you from diving in basically.
”

“There's been a few of them in my career that have been quite memorable. I think one of the most like, intense performances that I've ever done was for Truth and Reconciliation Day at EVO on September 30, 2022. I had picked out a song that was written for those who didn't make it home from the residential schools. I'm getting emotional just talking about it. The number was a dedication to those kids that never came home. I had my hair put into long
extensions, braided into two french long braids that I cut off on stage. In the Cree culture, in many Indigenous cultures, our hair is sacred. My hair right now is really short. Because when my dad died earlier this year, I cut my braids off for him. For the performance, I actually accidentally cut off a chunk of my own hair in the process. I had cut too high, I
missed my marker, because I was just so in it. I was on stage and tears were pouring on my
face, and it was so raw. I could feel the energy coming back at me from the audience. You could hear the gasps. Some people I don't think understood the significance of why I was cutting off the braids. But those who knew, like really got it. It powerful to to feel the scissors going through on stage and then just a few months later cutting my own real hair for my dad.”

“The biggest thing I would say is just kinanaskomitinawaw, which means I'm grateful/ thankful to all of you. I think that's my message to like anybody that supports my art, that comes out to see Tugs because it's just been such a life changing part of my world. Doing drag, being part of the community, and exploring my queerness, exploring my transness has been really empowering and so I'm just really grateful to everybody that has given me an opportunity. Especially being Mx. EVO was like something that I never really expected or saw coming and so it's all just very affirming to my art and my process and who I am as an individual. I'm just very grateful. ”