Lady Shug grew up in the four corners area in New Mexico as a proud, full-blood Indigenous Native American, born of the Diné (Navajo) Nation. Her drag persona was first created in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she was able to start her career and work amongst some of the best entertainers of the world at the Las Vegas Strip, performing nightly and rubbing shoulders with your favorite celebrities. After being in the Limelight for so many years, the land of enchantment called her home. Recently she relocated and is now living on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.

Lady Shug has been fighting for equal rights as an activist for her LGBTQIA2S+ indigenous relatives, to create equal rights in rural areas and reservations that do not normally protect those on indigenous lands. She loves working with the grassroot collectives, which has been the key to encouragement to smash white supremacy and heteropatriarchy for our indigenous trans, non-binary and gender nonconforming folks. 

 

She reigns with the titles of Miss Las Vegas Pride and Miss New Mexico Pride, and plans to continue her pageantry career with the goal of spreading her word and teachings for equality and revolution. As a indigenous queen of color, the persona of Lady Shug exists to inspire other young queens, especially queens of color and indigenous queens to unlock the immeasurable greatness within them all, to stand out in the world powerfully and in extraordinary fashion. As an Indigenous non-binary queen, I feel pride is something that has the potential to be your inner saboteur. It can be big and fabulous, but can also be dark and scary, because there aren’t many queer folks who have come out, and those who have are isolated.

Pride isn't just a feeling or an event. Shug says— “it's a state of mind. It's a constant in my daily life. Pride is about living every day with integrity and honesty, to make a difference for yourself and others around you. The sense of pride is about giving hope for a better future, and strength to my friends who are afraid to come out or be themselves, to have family love and accept you, whether given or chosen, and to have equality in healthcare, education, government, and as a general norm for society as a whole.”

 

Recently, Lady Shug was featured on an HBO special “We’re Here,” featuring Drag Race alumni Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela and Eureka. The series follows them going to small towns and empowering everyone to the art form of drag. “I was one of the highlights in the season finale,” she says, “ as an indigenous queen that strives to bring drag back to our indigenous territory. I'm so excited to have this platform, to inspire folks young and old that it's okay to be who you are and to be proud of yourself, whether you're a pow pow dancer, a drag queen, a comedian, a parent, a teacher, or even a caregiver. You are worthy of love and acceptance, and I wish to embody that feeling of love and Pride so no Indigenous queer person ever gets left behind.”

Watch Lady Shug's makes tutorial using Fat and the Moon Adornment here-->