Emma Morrison is the first Indigenous woman to win Miss World Canada
'I wanted to open that door for other Indigenous peoples to walk through'
A few years ago, Emma Morrison was just like any other 16-year-old from a small town. A member of Chapleau Cree First Nation in Ontario, she spent most of her time hunting, fishing and playing sports — until she joined the world of beauty pageantry.
Now 22, Morrison was crowned Miss World Canada on Sunday evening, making her the first Indigenous woman to hold the national title. She'll advance to the international Miss World competition next year in Vietnam.
"It wasn't about being the first Indigenous woman to hold this title," Morrison told CBC News. "Of course that's a high honour … but I wanted to open that door for other Indigenous peoples to walk through."
Morrison's first pageant was in the Miss North Ontario competition, where she was just one of three Indigenous contestants among 39 overall.
But the state of Indigenous representation in Canada's beauty pageant scene has since improved, she said, noting that this year's Miss North Ontario, Grace Webb, is a young woman from Dokis First Nation who was one of several Indigenous contestants in the 2022 event.
"I really do it for them, Indigenous youth, Indigenous little girls. Because I was once in their position," Morrison said. She competes to show her six younger foster siblings that they can reach their full potential.
"It doesn't have to be pageantry but it could be applying to university or stepping outside of your comfort zone, and it's just important to be that positive example that your dreams too are in reach."
Mentored by Mrs. Universe 2015, a 'big sister'
Morrison might be the first Indigenous Miss World Canada, but she isn't the first to ascend to the top of the beauty pageant world.
After winning Miss Teenage Canada in 2017, Morrison received a surprising social media friend request from Ashley Callingbull-Rabbit, who was the first Canadian and Indigenous woman to win Mrs. Universe in 2015.
Likening her to "a big sister," Morrison said that Callingbull-Rabbit has become a mentor and a guide as she advances through her pageant career.
Ashley Callingbull-Rabbit, Mrs. Universe 2015, says Emma Morrison, Miss World Canada 2022, is ‘breaking glass ceilings’ for Indigenous people in pageantry and inspiring future generations.
"She too comes from a reserve and she is an example of, through passion and drive, you can achieve anything. So it's been fantastic having her take me under her wing," Morrison said.
Callingbull-Rabbit, in addition to Morrison, coaches a handful of other Indigenous beauty pageant contestants across Canada and the United States. She says she wishes she had someone to show her the ropes when she first started out.
"You can push someone in the right direction and give them all the tools, but it's really up to them to make that dream come true, and [Emma] has," Callingbull-Rabbit told CBC News.
"Being a representative — it's not just being a face, and going around and waving and saying look who I am," she added. "For me it's about, what are you going to [do] with this platform, how are you going to use your voice and what kind of positive change are you going to create?"
Morrison, for her part, was tasked with developing a humanitarian project for the Miss World Canada's main competitive event, Beauty With a Purpose.
Her winning effort, called Reconnecting with Ribbon Skirts, began after the preliminary finding of 215 unmarked graves at the site of the Kamloops residential school in 2021, inspiring her to reconnect with her culture.
"So far I have made 23 ribbon skirts for Indigenous women to feel beautifully empowered, and this is what I want to do," she said. "I want to give Indigenous women a physical link to our culture, to remind them to stand strong and be proud of their cultural identity."
She hopes to bring the initiative to the international stage when she competes at Miss World next year. As an Indigenous woman, she doesn't have any hesitancy about representing Canada on the world stage — but she recognizes the responsibility that comes with her title, she said.
"I come from such a strong community of people. I'm coming from Chapleau Cree First Nation in Treaty Nine Mushkegowuk territory. And everybody in my community, my territory has been so incredibly supportive," she said.
"It makes it easier knowing that I have this support, this backbone to help me move forward with this title."
Northern Ont. woman is first Indigenous
winner of Miss World Canada
09:16
Watch: Full interview with Miss World Canada 2022
Meet Emma Morrison, Miss World Canada 2022
Chelsea Papineau
CTVNorthernOntario.ca Lead Digital Content Specialist
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Updated Nov. 15, 2022
A woman from a First Nation in northern Ontario has made national pageant history as the first Indigenous winner of Miss World Canada 2022.
Emma Morisson is a 22-year-old proud Mushkegowuk woman from Chapleau Cree First Nation, 200 kilometres west of Timmins.
Over the weekend she competed in Toronto against 49 competitors from across the country and took home the crown.
"I was recently taught, it's not about being the first, it's about opening that door for others to walk through," Morrison told CTV News in a Zoom interview.
"And that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to show all Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous youth, and all Canadians that it doesn't matter how small the community or reserve you're coming from, you can still accomplish big things and make a large impact,"
Not only did she win the title of Miss World Canada, she also won the Beauty with a Purpose 2022 title.
The Beauty with a Purpose portion requires all delegates to have a humanitarian project or be of service to their community. Download our app to get alerts to your device
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Morrison's project involved reconnecting with her Indigenous culture by making traditional ribbon skirts, which took her a year to prepare.
"After the 215 unmarked graves were found at the Kamloops residential school, this inspired me to reconnect with my culture. And this is when I began sewing ribbon skirts for myself to wear to remind me to be proud to be an Indigenous woman and all these feelings I knew I wanted to share with others," she said.
"So this is when I began creating ribbon skirts for other Indigenous women to wear so they'll have a physical link to their culture and remind them to feel empowered, to be proud to be an Indigenous woman."
This is not the first national beauty pageant Morrison has won.
Her interest in pageants began when she won the title of Miss Northern Ontario 2017.
"Growing up in Chapleau, I really was just hunting and fishing and playing sports and doing all the small town northern things, but what attracted me to pageants is it was something new," Morrison said.
"It sounded so exciting to step outside of my comfort zone and be surrounded by empowering women."
She then went on to nationals where she won Miss Teenage Canada the same year and was the first Indigenous woman to win the title.
After taking four years off from the pageant world to pursue her education in hair and esthetics, Morrison hasn't skipped a beat.
Now, she will spend the next year preparing for the Miss World competition in Vietnam.
"This is the oldest, most prestigious competition, beauty pageant in the entire world where I'll be meeting over 90 delegates to compete for the title," she said.
Her advice for other young beauty pageant hopefuls?
"Always be brave and have courage to step outside of your comfort zone and through this, it will only expand and open more opportunities for you," Morrison said.
She said in 2012, she was a young girl watching someone from her town compete in a pageant she would go on to win years later and calls her recent title a "full circle moment."
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