Members of the LGBTQ2SIA+ community have been forced to hide for far too long, but Indigenous and Queer artist Jayli Wolf refuses to be silent on “Hush”—the sophomore release and precursor to her forthcoming EP Wild Whisper due out June 18th. Learn more on her website: JAYLI WOLF | WILD WHISPER

The empowered doomsday cult survivor turned activist, actress, filmmaker, and alt-pop singer-songwriter-producer made an unforgettable entrance with the launch of her award-winning debut, “Child of the Government” this year. Her latest single, “Hush” opens another gateway for post-traumatic growth and enlightenment. With stirring poetic vocals over lush electrified sonics, the three-and-a-half minute song is amplified by an alluring visual in which a liberated Jayli Wolf takes full ownership of her sensuality and unfettered bisexual orientation.

“I finally have the courage to use my voice to tell these stories. I hope this project will be able to shed light on and raise awareness of these subject matters,” Jayli Wolf notes, “We can forgive for our own healing. The road ahead is long, and change takes time.”

The new single unpacks the multi-hyphenate act’s earliest memories of passion and self-discovery, ultimately plunged by her mother’s family members, who are all devoted Jehovah’s Witnesses:

“I felt immense shame around the truth and who I am. My first true love with another girl (a fellow cult member) was filled with guilt and shame. We would pray together for forgiveness over the desires that we had every day. I believed Jehovah would destroy me in Armageddon,” Jayli Wolf explains, “Being free now, my deprogramming has also allowed me to question the societal conditioning around relationships and sexual orientation. I hope this song brings people feelings of power and freedom in their own personal explorations.”

Jayli Wolf is an Anishinaabe/Cree artist and creative based out of Toronto, Canada. She is a Jehovah’s Witnesses doomsday cult survivor and works to be a role model in her community—speaking to Indigenous youth about the entertainment industry and inspiring them to follow their dreams. Together with her partner and collaborator Hayden Wolf, she started creating music, producing, and directing films as Once A Tree. Their releases and self-directed visuals since have resulted in praise from Billboard, CBC, Clash, Complex, Exclaim!, HYPEBEAST, PEOPLE, MTV, NYLON, Rolling Stone, The FADER, Vice’s Noisey, among others.

The debut offering from Jayli Wolf exhibits her family’s experience during the Sixties Scoop, where the Canadian Government and Catholic Church were responsible for taking or “scooping” more than 20,000 First Nation, Métis, and Inuit children from their families and communities in the 1950s through the ‘90s. The children were placed in foster homes or adopted (with accounts of children even being sold) into non-Indigenous families across Canada, the United States, and beyond. Along with the loss of cultural identity, the government went so far as to change some children’s true ethnicity on file. Many experienced severe sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Jayli Wolf’s father was one of these children.

By sharing these vital messages of justice and rebirth, Jayli Wolf authentically connects with her community by-way-of her music and social media, including her viral TikTok video that has reached over half a million viewers and received countless comments from people whose Indigenous family members have had similar experiences.

“I finally have the courage to use my voice to tell these stories. I hope this project will be able to shed light on and raise awareness of these subject matters,” Jayli Wolf notes, “We can forgive for our own healing. The road ahead is long, and change takes time.”

Jayli Wolf. Photos by Hayden Wolf