Jessica McKenzie says earning the title as the inaugural Miss Indigenous Canada is also a win for Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
McKenzie, who now lives in Toronto, is a member of Opaskwayak and hails from the nearby town of The Pas in northern Manitoba. On Saturday, the 30-year-old was declared the winner of the Miss Indigenous Canada pageant, held in the Haudenosaunee territory of Six Nations of the Grand River in southern Ontario.
“I’m honestly so humbled, I’m so overwhelmed,” she told CBC after her win.
“I just really wanted to do this for my community, so a big shout out to Opaskwayak Cree Nation.”
There were 26 Indigenous women from across Canada who were selected from more than 700 applicants to compete in the pageant, and McKenzie was one of four to represent Manitoba First Nations.
McKenzie says she and many others were drawn to compete in Miss Indigenous Canada because it’s not a typical pageant.
“It wasn’t about beauty, it was more around community and culture,” she said. “It’s something on my healing journey that I really needed at the time, and I think that that’s different from any colonial pageant that we see out there.”
Her culture and ceremonies helped her prepare for the event, and she wanted to keep those ties strong throughout the competition regardless of the outcome.
“Standing on that stage, you have to be true to who you are, and you have to know who you are from the core,” McKenzie said.
“It was just such a beautiful journey, and just being here with the ladies and really making sure that we all support each other has just really been a loving experience.”
‘A community win’
During her reign as Miss Indigenous Canada, McKenzie wants to visit Indigenous communities and mentor youth and other Indigenous women in order to “make sure we inspire and treat the next generation with kindness and love,” she said.
She also wants to return to Opaskwayak to show her gratitude to the elders and knowledge keepers who supported her.
“It’s not just my win, it’s a community win,” she told the crowd shortly before her victory.
“In a rare opportunity where I get to shine, I allow those around me to come shine with me.”
Sophia Ferrier, McKenzie’s nine-year-old stepdaughter, says the win inspires her to follow the same path.
“I felt so proud for my mom, and not just because she won, but because I think she deserved this opportunity,” she told CBC.
“Someday when I’m older, I probably might sign up for Miss Indigenous Canada, and I am going to feel the same strong way that my second mother felt.”
In a Facebook post on Saturday, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said McKenzie’s win is a “remarkable” achievement and that she represented Opaskwayak with grace and distinction during the pageant.