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Q&A with Canada’s Ashley Burnham a.k.a. Mrs. Universe

Ashley Callingbull, 25, is the first First Nations woman and the first Canadian to win the pageant

Ashley Burnham is having a big week. The 25-year-old from Enoch Cree Nation just west of Edmonton is the newly crowned Mrs. Universe, an international pageant for married women that focuses on community work, rather than looks.

She’s the first Canadian to take the title of the competition, which took place last week in Belarus, and her focus throughout this journey has been laser clear: to bring attention to First Nations issues and culture to as many people as she can reach.

Mrs. Universe — not to be confused with Miss Universe — involves forums for the contestants to talk about a theme, this year’s being violence against women and children. During the weeklong competition, the women discuss ideas on how to combat issues and what they do within their communities. Participants in this year’s pageant came from around the world and included doctors, lawyers and even one politician. (South Africa was the runner-up.) There is no cash prize.

The issue of violence against women is something that hits close to home for Burnham — having grown up in poverty, she was a victim of childhood sexual and physical abuse at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend and his brothers between the ages of five to 13.

At 14, she decided to start healing, which she did through community work. Now Burnham travels across North America, running workshops and giving talks in venues ranging from small towns in the Arctic to Harvard University. The list of charities she works with is long, but includes the Dreamcatcher Foundation and the Cancer Foundation, among others.

Along with volunteering, Burnham is an actor. After her big Mrs. Universe win, she says her agent hasn’t ever been busier, fielding calls from casting directors wanting to meet with her. She can next be seen on Blackstone, a gritty series on APTN about life on a reserve.

Yahoo Canada News spoke to the notably exhausted Burnham from her home in Six Nations, Ont.

How did you get involved in this pageant?

I quit pageants in 2013. I wanted to do it bring awareness to my charities but I couldn’t stand being on stage in a swimsuit. After I got married my friends told me about Mrs. Universe. They told me there’s no swimsuit portion and you’re not judged on your physical appearance whatsoever. The whole charitable causes and work you do is everything I love to do, so I said, “Why not do it and see what happens?” And I won and now I’m blown away.

Who’s your role model?

Definitely, my mother. She’s been through all that craziness with me as a child but she’s also been through more. She’s a survivor. If I didn’t have her to look to for strength, I wouldn’t be that strong. There’s always going to be people going through worse things than you are. That’s what I always remember and that’s what makes me want to be strong.

Are you involved in politics?

A lot of First Nations people don’t like Stephen Harper at all. He doesn’t focus on First Nations issues. He puts it on the back burner all the time. I feel like a lot of people in Canada suffer because of him. It’s been a long time coming and I think we need something new. But I’m trying not to be overly political right now because the (Mrs. Universe) organization was like “Yeah, you’re really getting out there with all your political statements.” They support everything I say. They just want to make sure I’m not offending anyone. Obviously I probably did. But I have a voice and I think it’s important because I’m getting so much media attention. Like even the murder and missing [aboriginal] women in Canada. That’s never talked about. I had an interview with ET Canada and I’m wondering if they’ll even air all the things I said about that situation and Stephen Harper. I don’t think they will. It’s stuff the media isn’t sharing and I really think they should.

What are your plans for the future?

For the immediate future, for the organization I obviously have to travel around and do charity work and go work with women who are at risk who are living the lifestyle that I had. I’m also going to do all the stuff that I was already doing but my schedule is blowing up. I’m getting invited to all these First Nations events and rallies and I’m definitely going to try to make it to all of them. It’s going to be a crazy and hectic month. I’m already getting invited to things a year from now. But it’s great because I’ll be doing so much, not for myself but other people. It really feels good.