From the farm to Times Square, Rolling Stone to the 60s Scoop, the Creston singer and star lays tracks through stardom, dark days, and a father’s fate.

She’s a veteran musician, actor, activist, a new farmer, and a survivor.

Two-spirited Jayli Wolf is also a member of the Saulteau First Nations and today, lives near Creston. While Wolf ’s career has garnered the spotlight of global media platforms including Spotify, British Vogue, Vice magazine, Hello! and music’s preeminent title, Rolling Stone, she and her husband Hayden, a professional photographer, live a private and newly peaceful life on the farm where she grew up.

Your work in TV started in 2014 on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s (APTN) Mohawk Girls and, most recently, on Disney’s series Y: The Last Man. You’ve appeared in five films. That business seems gruelling — and maybe not as lucrative as folks may think. How would you describe that part of your career? We’d work 16-hour days on set, then when I wasn’t there, I was doing voice work, or working on music. I was never home. I saw my partner and friends about a week a year for a few years. (Laughs) It was really bad. There are wonderful parts about it — you’re constantly in new locations, meeting new people. But at one point, I had to ask myself if it was all worth it. I was putting people and things I cared about second…and you mentioned the lucrative part…at the beginning it can be gruelling, but you can really get some really great contracts. It’s just a lot of sacrifice.

Your musical career started when you won a song-writing contest on APTN, then you and Hayden formed the duo Once A Tree. The act received some big press — Rolling Stone took note, so did British Vogue, Nylon, and Vice. With all that success, what led the two of you to set Once A Tree aside to pursue your solo career? I had a lot of stories I wanted to tell that were personal, and it felt right for me to write those as a solo artist, to play with different genres and play with different musicians. It felt more authentic that way. My soul was calling me to tell my own stories.

And how did Hayden take that? (Laughing) He was so supportive, he was amazing. He’s my partner in crime.

You’ve both spent time around a lot of very big names in show business. Last year, you performed at the Bring Change To Mind gala for mental health awareness, organized by Glenn Close, that also featured country leg end Reba McEntire and comedian Amy Schumer. You shared a bottle of gin you were given by Ryan Reynolds. Your husband worked for Drake and his clothing line, October’s Very Own. What is it like to be in the company of superstars like this — nerve wracking? Thrilling? Easy company and just another day in the life? I think at first it was really thrilling, but then you start to get that people are just people. We all have good days. It was nice to see celebrities backstage, or on set, and learn that we all sit in a circle in this life.

Last October, you were Spotify’s EQUAL Ambassador, as part of a project aimed at powering movements for gender equality. The advertising for that ended up on billboards in Toronto’s Dundas Square and NYC’s Times Square. How do you keep that kind of fame in perspective? I feel incredible gratitude for the opportunities. Life is filled with ups and downs, and this was definitely one of the most exciting campaigns I got to be a part of. I was on such a high during my time in NYC. There were some surreal moments but the main feeling was immense gratitude.

Wild Whisper was your first EP. At the end of the song Child of the Government, you speak to your father’s experience as a child taken in the 60s Scoop. How is he today? My father is doing really great. He’s grown so much in the past few years, and made a lot of big changes in his life. He lives in the Kootenays as well.

The video for Child of the Government charted number one on CBC and IMC radio; the video was awarded too. Why do you think it was so well received? Some Canadians didn’t know anything about the 60s Scoop. So when the song first came out, it was an educational piece. It was news for some people. I wasn’t expecting it to have that sort of impact.

As an activist, and as someone who is both Indigenous and queer, do you feel society has made headway in the last few years in terms of reconciliation and inclusivity? Have things changed since your career started? Definitely. There’s so much more inclusivity in our industry. It’s really encouraging to see.

Some people feel media has spent too much time on inclusivity and reconciliation the last few years — I’m glad you touched on that. That’s something we hear a lot — that there’s too much talk of inclusivity. I want to be hired because I’m a good actor and a good musician, not because of my race or because I’m bisexual. But we’ve been in the dark ages for such a long time. We have to give it more time to balance out.

You‘ve said in a few interviews that up until you were eight or so, your Dane family at the time had led you to believe you were of Mexican origin. What does it mean to you to be Indigenous as opposed to a different ethnic background? I didn’t know what that truly meant until I got a bit older. It meant the world to me to start reconnecting with my biological Indigenous family in my teens.

Your return to the Creston farm you grew up on is an incredible story. I left when I was 17. My great grandparents owned it, so I was able to visit, but they lost it about seven years ago. I always said I was going to buy it back. And as soon as I started looking, it came on the market. The new owners had even kept the old family farm name sign up.

You’ve mentioned you’re not really a morning person. Farmers usually get up pretty early… (Laughing) I’m getting better. We’re getting horses soon so I’m going to have to get up. But that’s the best part. It’s hard to have a bad day when you’re surrounded by beautiful, innocent creatures. Even though they demand time and energy.

What’s next for you? I’m working on my debut full-length album at the moment, and I’m beyond excited about getting this time to create…and writing my poetry book.

In your latest album, God Is An Endless Mirror, you get very personal in ways many folks can relate to. In an interview you did with Tom Power on CBC’s Q last fall, you talked about the mental and spiritual health challenges you’ve faced. What were you going through, and how have you overcome that darkness? I went through a very intense spiritual awakening. I don’t know how else to define it. I thought I was losing my mind. It’s why I stepped away from acting and came back to the Kootenays. What’s helped? Surrounding myself with nature and animals, and having time for my partner and my friends. Giving back to myself.

Lots of us struggle to maintain mental health. What’s your advice on how to just get through a difficult day when they keep piling up? I had to stop giving my energy to unhealthy thoughts. I would literally say ‘I call my power back to myself.’ I’d focus on my inner world and get in touch with what I actually want, not what society says I should want. What is actually going to make me happy? I’d suggest to anyone going through a hard time that they listen to what’s going on within.

~ Darren Davidson

Find this full-length story and more in The Trench’s Spring + Summer 2024 edition:

Why Jayli Wolf Survives

From the farm to Times Square, Rolling Stone to the 60s Scoop, the Creston singer and star lays tracks through stardom, dark days, and a father’s fate.

Birdies and the Bugs

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