'I'm honoured': Manitoba First Nation resident named Miss Indigenous Canada

A woman originally from a Manitoba First Nation is beaming with excitement after winning a pageant over the weekend.

Jessica McKenzie of Opaskwayak Cree Nation was named the inaugural Miss Indigenous Canada following a three-day event in Ontario.

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"I'm still shaking a little bit, but I know I'm honoured, and I feel just so happy to be here," she said from Toronto Monday.

McKenzie said she entered one pageant more than a decade ago, and saw the ad for Miss Indigenous Canada while scrolling online.

"I was at a tough point of my life, where I needed a reminder of self-love and just that confidence boost," she said. "So I said, 'you know what? Let's do this for myself. Let's do this for the community, and let's do this for Manitoba."

Miss Indigenous Canada was not a beauty pageant, but instead focused on Indigenous traditions, culture and leadership. McKenzie’s presentation was about her grandfather Murray, who is a residential school survivor, photographer, trapper and voice actor. Doing so, she said she was able to get closer to and have a deeper understanding of her heritage.

"This pageant was also just that extra beat for myself to be able to truly dive deeper into ceremony, to dive deeper into learning my language," she said.

Her goal as Miss Indigenous Canada is to visit different Indigenous communities and inspire youth to embrace their heritage.

"We actually spoke with a past Miss Indian World, and she explained the title in such a beautiful way," she said. "She said that this title is a spirit. We must learn how to water her, how to feed her, how to help her grow and show her all these beautiful opportunities that could come to her during this journey."