Ashley Callingbull, Miss Universe Canada 2024, has paused this year's pageant to address an instance of cultural appropriation involving two contestants.
While hosting the August 8 event, Callingbull, 36, who became the first Indigenous woman to win the crown in 2024, interrupted director Sonny Borrelli just as he was about to announce the top 20 contestants.
"So with Miss Universe Canada, me being the first Indigenous First Nations Miss Universe Canada, that was such a huge honor," Callingbull, a Plains Cree woman, said in a clip shared on social media. "One of the biggest dreams of my life was coming here and fulfilling that.
"But sometimes there are mistakes that are made. During this week, I wanted to acknowledge this," she continued. "During the national competition, the costume competition, there was cultural appropriation that was done towards Indigenous peoples. And I saw this right away. I wasn't there. I just saw it on video."
Ahead of the Miss Canada Final, the contestants went through preliminary rounds, including a national costume competition held August 4, which saw contestants Karisa Haverkamp and Jasleen Kaily take the stage in elaborate Indigenous costumes.
Haverkamp modeled a strapless, patterned dress and an intricate, feathered headdress, traditionally worn by Indigenous leaders, while Kaily came out in fur-covered, knee-high mukluks, boots traditionally crafted by Indigenous people, and a matching fur-covered skin-tight dress.
Callingbull said that she quickly reached out to Borrelli and the Miss Universe Canada team, who "immediately listened."
"They heard exactly what we need to do to change," she recalled. "I think we're living in a time, it's 2026, we should know better, but most importantly, a part of reconciliation is that we educate and learn and understand and move on from these things in a good way."
She then offered Borrelli the chance to publicly apologize to the Indigenous community.
"On behalf of all of us at Miss Universe Canada, it was not our intent to offend anybody and if we did, we take full responsibility, we will learn from it," said Borrelli, announcing that Callingbull will be their new cultural liaison moving forward.
Both Haverkamp and Kaily have apologized for their actions, with the former writing last week in an Instagram post: "I acknowledge and recognize that my outfit for the national costume caused hurt and offense to people in the Indigenous community.
"I am proud of my own great-grandmother and her resilience and how much she was there for my dad and desired to share that with Canada and the world," Haverkamp said. "I appreciate what I have learned from this experience and continue my commitment to stand up and speak for all women who have lost their voice because of violence, trauma and oppression."
Meanwhile, Kaily added in a since-expired Instagram Story: "My intention was never to disrespect or misrepresent Indigenous culture." She only wanted to "recognize and celebrate one of the First Peoples of Canada."
"The best thing to do is represent Indigenous people because they have been in Canada the longest and it's their land at the end of the day," she later explained to the CBC, admitting that she had difficulty interpreting the guidelines for the national costume competition. "They [Miss Universe Canada] didn't really have any guidelines on appropriation or anything that we can or cannot do. I don't want to bash Miss Universe Canada because they were very supportive with everything."