Dancing in both worlds: Navigating life as a 2-spirited championship jigger and drag queen
'There is no wrong way to feel' says acclaimed Manitoba jigger and drag queen Ryan Richard
This is part 3 of a 3-part series looking at stories of Indigenous resilience. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.
Winnipeg's Ryan Richard is one of the most accomplished jiggers in Manitoba. He's won the Festival du Voyageur jigging championship several times, and performs with the acclaimed Asham Stompers.
He also happens to be a two-spirited drag queen.
The definition of two-spirit varies from territory to territory, but Two-Spirited People of Manitoba's Albert McLeod defines it as "a term used to describe Aboriginal people who assume cross- or multiple-gender roles, attributes, dress and attitudes for personal, spiritual, cultural, ceremonial or social reasons."
"I always wanted to wear dresses and I wanted to be a girl when I was growing up," Richard said. When company would come to visit, his parents would tell him to take the dress off.
Jigging has also always been part of his life. He started at the age of one while growing up in Sandy Bay First Nation and won his first competition at the age of three.
And he says he always knew he was two-spirited. As a young person growing up on the rez, he admired his cousin Tanya, who he remembers as a flamboyant transgender woman.
"That's probably where I got my curiosity from," said Richard. "When I was a kid I thought, 'When I grow up, I want to be like [Tanya].'"
Richard remembered his cousin being the center of attention, and admired how open she was about her sexuality.
Moving to the city
He ran away from home and ended up on the streets of Winnipeg as a sex-trade worker. During that time that Richard met another Indigenous transgender person, Divas Boulanger. Boulanger and Richard developed an immediate friendship.
Richard remembers inviting Boulanger to watch him jig at the Métis pavilion during Winnipeg's Folklorama festival.
After seeing him jig, Richard says Boulanger told him, "There's no reason that you should be wearing a dress and standing out there [on the streets] when you have a talent that makes you a lot of money."
Boulanger took Richard under her wing and told him to get off the streets.
Richard said the advice and mentorship from Boulanger is something that has always stuck him.
"She taught me how to live life to the fullest, and not to take any BS from anybody."
Boulanger went missing in September of 2004, and her body was found near a rest stop close to Portage la Prairie, Man.
Theodore Herntier was given a life sentence for her murder in 2016.
Leaving the streets
Richard says he spent two years on the streets. He recalls that during that time, he ran into another transgender person, Kelly Houle, who he says became "a really good friend of mine" and who had a huge impact impact on his life.
"She got me off the street immediately," said Richard.
Houle allowed Richard to live at her place and mentored the younger Richard. He gives credit to Houle for showing him things like how to wear makeup.
It was around this time that Richard discovered gay bars, like Winnipeg's Club 200.
"When I came to Club 200 when I turned 18, that's when I stopped wanting to be a woman because I seen a whole new world," said Richard, adding that there wasn't anything like it on the reserve.
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He made his own debut in drag three years ago. Richard says it's something that has brought him great pride as he is making a name for himself in Winnipeg's LGBT/two-spirit community.
"I basically learned to love myself and then whatever I feel, I just go along with it," said Richard. Gender identity is something that is more fluid for him, he says.
These days, Richard is cautiously optimistic about what the future holds for him. He works as a dance instructor with the Asham Stompers and teaches jigging to the next generation of dancers.
In November, he was crowned Miss Club 200, a top award for a drag performer and an accomplishment he says he's very proud of.
Richard sees himself as a role model in the two-spirit community, and is hoping that his story allows other Indigenous people to find pride in who they are.
"There's no use struggling with it," he says when asked what advice he would give a young person struggling with their own gender identity questions.
"Just go with it, whatever you feel. There is no wrong way to feel."
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