21/10/2025
Ashley Callingbull - The First Indigenous Woman to win Mrs. Universe (2015), who Is "Fighting Every Day" for Indigenous Representation.
The former Miss Canada winner and proud Plains Cree Indigenous woman from the Cree Nation and Treaty Six Territory, has dedicated her life to "positive representation" as a model, actress, author and activist.
"For a lot of my life, a lot of the things that I've had to chase, they weren't open to me because I'm an Indigenous woman, whether that be acting or modeling. And I've been told that, you know, that Indigenous people aren't relatable, so we're not going to cast you, which is such a crazy thing to hear. Now, times are changing and things are becoming more inclusive, it's been too long to get to this point."
Callingbull continued, "My culture really shaped me because I always had this thing about, 'Well, why can't I do this? Why can't I?' I had this thing like, 'I'm going to prove myself.'"
She added, "So when you see an indigenous person, next time you look at them, you know, think that they may be dealing with intergenerational trauma, they may be dealing with things that the government, the system, has thrown at them. So you never know. We never had it easy, and we still don't. And I think that's one thing that people really need to be educated on, is that we don't have it easy. We're still fighting every day."
