
- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
Native News Online interviewed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Ashley Callingbull on a recent edition of Bidaské.
Ashley is from Enoch Cree Nation near Edmonton, Alberta. She is a former Mrs. Universe, and the first Indigenous woman from North America to win that title.
Ashley spoke candidly about her life and career: “I came from living in poverty and overcoming abuse, to having to find myself to learn to let go of things in the past, so they don't control my future. I had to learn to love myself again. And once I did that, I found my passions in life, and I chase happiness. And now I have all these amazing things going for me. And I'm able to amplify other people's voices as well. So for me, it's all about the legacy I'm going to leave behind. And for me, I just want it to be positive, always.”
She also spoke about the legacy of Indian Residential Boarding Schools in her family, as well as a forthcoming memoir and her work launching a jewelry line that will help Indigenous community programs.
Check out the full interview below, and be sure to subscribe to the Native News Online YouTube channel.
More Stories Like This
House Passes Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal; How Native American Members of Congress VotedHistory Made as First Navajo Appointed U.S. Federal Judge in California
California Bill Aims to Increase State Funding for Tribal Housing
Navajo Nation Leaders Recognized the Fallen on Memorial Day
This Day in History — May 28, 1830, Andrew Jackson Signs Indian Removal Act
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.