{"id":3245,"date":"2018-06-05T07:00:08","date_gmt":"2018-06-05T07:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2018\/06\/05\/queen-of-the-oil-patch-celebrates-two-spirit-fort-mcmurray-entrepreneur\/"},"modified":"2018-06-05T07:00:08","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T07:00:08","slug":"queen-of-the-oil-patch-celebrates-two-spirit-fort-mcmurray-entrepreneur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2018\/06\/05\/queen-of-the-oil-patch-celebrates-two-spirit-fort-mcmurray-entrepreneur\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen of the Oil Patch celebrates two-spirit Fort McMurray entrepreneur"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Thurton\/ CBC News<\/em><\/p>\n

Queen of the Oil Patch celebrates two-spirit Fort McMurray entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

Massey Whiteknife’s\u00a0sassy, entrepreneurial and voluptuous style is coming to the small screen in a docu-series\u00a0titled\u00a0Queen of the Oil Patch.<\/em><\/p>\n

The part documentary and\u00a0reality TV show premieres Tuesday night on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.<\/p>\n

It\u00a0places the spotlight on Whiteknife, a two-spirited First Nations entrepreneur who\u00a0transforms into Iceis\u00a0Rain, all against the landscape of Fort McMurray’s\u00a0oilsands\u00a0region.<\/p>\n

The trailer for the eight-episode season depicts Massey day-to-day, meeting contractors and roughnecks.<\/p>\n

Then it\u00a0quickly cuts to\u00a0Iceis\u00a0Rain, wearing cherry-red lipstick and sashaying\u00a0in\u00a0peacock\u00a0headdresses, fur coats and bejewelled\u00a0stilettos.<\/p>\n

“I don’t identify myself as\u00a0trans[gender],”\u00a0Whiteknife\u00a0said in a\u00a0CBC\u00a0interview. “I identify myself as two-spirited and that is the journey throughout the show. I always tell people you don’t need to put yourself in a label that society says.<\/p>\n

“And I am not a big fan of having all these labels because then we are going to have this alphabet right across the board.”<\/p>\n

First Nations people use the term two-spirit to describe someone who has both masculine and feminine identities.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The show follows Whiteknife\u00a0as he\u00a0navigates life after the Fort McMurray\u00a0wildifire,\u00a0operating a struggling business in a tanking economy.\u200b<\/p>\n

Some\u00a0moments depict\u00a0Whiteknife\u00a0as an upholder of Indigenous culture who keeps traditional dance and spirituality alive\u00a0in the\u00a021st\u00a0century.<\/p>\n

He’s also a champion for\u00a0LGBTQ2\u00a0youth who are bullied, and urges them to be themselves and not live for others.<\/p>\n

“I dress up because I am a woman. And why can’t I?” Whiteknife\u00a0said.\u00a0“I hope what people take away from the show is the real me.”<\/p>\n

Drama and a search for self<\/h2>\n

In the show,\u00a0Whiteknife\u00a0owns and operates a program called Get Ready; which helps\u00a0First Nations people find full-time employment in Canada.<\/p>\n

But the trailer also promises glamour,\u00a0layers of makeup and “porn star”\u00a0Botox\u00a0lips \u2014 as Whiteknife\u00a0describes in his\u00a0brash style. There’s also late-night drama and other twists, including a record album and a vehicle accident.<\/p>\n

Whiteknife\u00a0also ponders identity questions about whether he will transition from male to female.<\/p>\n

“The large part of the question is, can I continue to sustain my lifestyle as Massey and\u00a0Iceis\u00a0Rain?”\u00a0Whiteknife\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

“Or am I going to get rid of one or the other. So, will I transition full-time?<\/p>\n

“You will just have to watch to find out.”<\/p>\n

Queen of the Oil Patch airs Tuesday nights on APTN\u00a0at 10.30pm.<\/p>\n