Storyboot School ambassador Ashley Callingbull.
In a season rich with notions of giving back, Ashley Callingbull has her work cut out for her. The 27-year-old actress, raised in Alberta's Enoch Cree Nation and a star competitor on this year's Amazing Race Canada, is passionate about keeping her indigenous cultural traditions alive and educating Canadians about them. Crowned Mrs. Universe in 2015, Callingbull's newest role is that of ambassador for the Manitobah Mukluks Storyboot School. The program, presented in conjunction with the TreadRight Foundation (which supports environmental and community around the world), was recently presented at Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum, where expert artisans gave workshops in moccasin making. It's there that I caught up with Callingbull to talk about how she managed to embrace her culture and find herself at a time when so many other aboriginal youths are struggling with their identities. I asked her about her work with Canada's indigenous-owned Manitobah Mukluks, the value of being a beauty pageant winner and her determination to inspire others to lead a fearless life.
How did you feel when you were asked to get involved with Manitobah Mukluks?
I thought "Why not?" because it stands for something so strong. It stands for culture and tradition. That's something that's really important to me and my life, and I think it's important for youth to be involved in it as well because you don't want to forget where you came from.
Tell me a little bit about your childhood.
I had a really rough upbringing. I lived through poverty and physical and sexual abuse. But instead of going towards drugs and alcohol, like a lot of my friends did, I went back to my culture. I went to sweats and ceremonies. My grandparents are a medicine man and medicine woman. That's what basically saved my life. I committed myself to my culture and staying away from all the negativity. That ended up making me stronger and more positive and wanting to do so much more with my life than what I thought I could.
What was it that made you see the light?
I felt like I had much more to give and do, and seeing my grandparents live their lives for other people, to help other people come out of their problems… I thought, I want to be like them. I want to be able to help people and give back. And because that's what made them happy, I thought that's going to make me happy, too. I just wanted to give myself a good life. If my culture can save my life, it can save others, too.
What about the role of fashion and style in your life? Because as much as Manitobah Mukluks is about heritage, it represents fashion, too.
Manitobah Mukluks are very stylish. You see them on different celebrities or in the streets, but they're very traditional because they have the beadwork and fur on them, and it all symbolizes a story. All boots tell a story, which is great. I did modelling and pageants, so style is important to me because it's a part of my life. As an actress you need to have style, so it's great to incorporate my culture with style.
Growing up, did you look at the traditional dress of your ancestors and think it was a cool thing, and that maybe you'd want to wear some of those pieces?
I always thought the traditional ways of how they dressed was interesting, and if I could incorporate that into my life, like beadwork, well, that is really beautiful. Like my regalia, my Jingle dress for example: I love wearing that when I go to powwows because it represents me as a person, and it represents my culture. But if I can incorporate beadwork into my outfits, well, they just stand out so much more. This is me in two different aspects and it makes it so much more special.
What are you hoping that other people learn from the exposure to some of these beautiful designs and the processes of how they're made?
I think it's really important for people to see First Nation designers and see what they come up with, because a lot of it has to do with our culture and traditions. The storytelling of who we are as people really opens up people's eyes. For First Nation designers to be able to showcase that and for it to be mainstream, well it's something that Canada needs to see, because a lot of people don't really know much of our culture.
This notion of giving back is very inspiring. Was there ever any question in your mind that that's the type of work that you wanted to do?
I've always wanted to help people because my grandparents live their lives around that philosophy. That's how you find happiness. Growing up, I never really had a smile on my face because of all the tragedy I had to live through. It was really traumatic for me to overcome, but that's the one thing I love to see: a smile on a child's face because I'm doing something right. It's an indescribable feeling to be able to give back and know that you made a good difference in someone's life.
What inspired you to go out and try to become Mrs. Universe?
I started charity work when I was 14 after my sister passed [from a rare disease]. That's the reason I got into pageants. I never thought I would do a pageant in my life, but I started in 2010 with pageants and I thought, I'm going to use pageants as a way to raise awareness and funds for the charities that I work for, and use it as a platform instead of using it for self gain. Then in 2015, when I won the title [of Mrs. Universe], I had so much media attention I thought that this it was the perfect time to speak my mind about the serious issues that are happening to First Nations people in Canada and I did.
It's a title that could be taken quite lightly, but it's really helped catapult you to this whole other platform.
Instead of just sitting there and looking pretty with a sash, why not use that sash for good? Why not use that sash for change? A lot of young women who do pageants would sit back and just relax and enjoy the win. But I want other young girls to look up to me and see what they can do with a voice.
How optimistic are you about Aboriginal youth and the future?
There's a lot of tragedy in different First Nations communities across Canada. It hurts to see that, but I'm optimistic because there are a lot of indigenous role models for them to look up to and we're all coming up in different fields, whether that be acting, modelling, sports or education. Coming from the res, I know what it's like not to have big dreams for myself. But why limit myself ? Why let these kids limit themselves? So what I try to do is bring light into their lives and let them know that you can achieve anything that you want to achieve. You just have to really believe in yourself and love and appreciate yourself for who you are and live a fearless life. Don't let the fear of being from the reserve and thinking you can't make it off stop you. You can do whatever you want to achieve.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Jeanne Beker