For Langford’s Doreen Scow, stepping onto the Miss Indigenous Canada stage won't be about glitz, glamour or chasing a crown – it will be a platform to send a message of hope, empowerment and cultural pride.
“It's not a beauty pageant,” stresses Scow, whose traditional name is Tlatlakol. “It's about what we have to give out in this world – what kind of energy are we giving out to people.”
The third-year Indigenous Studies student at York University is heading to Six Nations of the Grand River in Ont. later in July to take part in the four-day event.
There she will be representing her nation Kwakwaka’wakw, whose traditional territories span northern Vancouver Island.
Although she grew up in Langford with her parents and two younger siblings, Scow says her connection to her cultural identity has always remained strong.
This is not always the case for some Indigenous youth, explains Scow. Some have to choose between education and their culture.
“Either they're living in the city and don't have a strong connection to their cultures or they're living in their communities … but not the best education,” she says.
“Because it's hard to find teachers – a lot of people don't really want to pack up everything and move to somewhere rural.”
But Scow thinks folks should not have to choose and there should be fair access to education for Indigenous children – a message she will share at the pageant.
“I want to try to help bridge that gap between culture and education and encourage people to seek the best of both worlds,” she says.
“You don't have to choose one or the other – for me, it's walking in two worlds.”
It’s a mission she’s long been committed to.
Before moving to Toronto, she was active in the Naht’sa’maht role model program with the Sooke School District, while studying at Camosun College.
“That was amazing,” says Scow, who is a Belmont Secondary School alumni. “It gave me a way to give back to the community – and whenever I go home, I still try and book a couple of sessions here and there when I can.”
Scow credits the school district program for helping her discover her passion for education and working with kids from all backgrounds and cultures.
“I want to give everyone the opportunity to learn about where I come from and the stories that I have to share,” she adds.
Today, her leadership journey continues as vice president of York’s Indigenous Students Association, where she has created safe cultural spaces for people to explore their identity and learn about other people's nations.
“I know a lot of people who move away for school feel like they're being detached from their culture,” Scow says. “So I want to kind of help bridge those two worlds together.”
Her impressive resume doesn’t end there.
She’s also an Indigenous climate leadership researcher at the university’s Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Languages, plus she volunteers for 2SLGBTQ causes and the student union.
It’s all experience and knowledge that will serve her well at the upcoming Miss Indigenous Canada pageant.
Described as a self-development and leadership program for young Indigenous women, Miss Indigenous Canada aims to empower and encourage participants to develop leadership skills, give back to their communities and connect to their cultures.
The four-day retreat is filled with workshops, team-building activities, and cultural presentations – including a requirement to speak in their own language at the pageant’s finale on the last day.
Scow will be cheered on by her parents and one of her siblings – who Scow says is more excited about the trip to Ontario, rather than the pageant.
"I'm excited to not only be representing my nation but also my family,” she says.
For Scow, the opportunity feels like “trailblazing.”
“Not many people from my nation have stepped into a spotlight like this,” she says. “A lot of my relatives are involved in academia, business – other ventures.
“I’ve never really seen anybody from my nation who's like an actor, a singer or someone who's involved in pageants.”
Since being announced as a contestant, Scow has received invitations to events, including a Netflix premiere, and she has even modelled for a make-up brand – an experience she describes as surreal.
But despite the lure of her 15 minutes of fame, Scow says the title of Miss Indigenous Canada is a responsibility, and one she won’t take lightly.
Unlike her youth, when she struggled to find people similar to her in the public eye, Scow hopes she can be an inspiration for young Indigenous girls.
“For all the girls back home right now, I want to show them that someone they know, or someone like them, can be out there doing all this stuff,” she says.
“I just want to be that little bug in someone's ear telling them it may seem scary at first, but just take that leap of faith and go for it."
