THUNDER BAY — Jaida Gregg of Thunder Bay received the Academic Achievement Award at the inaugural Miss Indigenous Canada pageant in late July.
Gregg is Ojibwe and proudly comes from Lac Seul First Nation. Her traditional name is OgitcghitaaBinesiik, which means female Thunderbird who helps and cares for people.
Gregg said it was truly an honour to win the award.
It “was based on an essay that we had to prepare, talking about our education that we currently have, education that we're going to continue and then also our career goals.
“It was a blessing. I really take my career seriously and I want to do a lot for my fellow Indigenous people,” she said.
Gregg is a registered nurse currently working at Independent First Nations Alliance Tribal Council.
“I work with five different communities and I travel up north and provide pediatric services. A lot of my career has been focused on working with Indigenous communities and specifically the youth.
“I also work with Tikinagan and I work on the Hear Us Youth Board, which acts as a voice for the youth in care. I also am a board member for the William Creighton Youth Services, which is focused on providing services for Indigenous youth involved in the criminal justice system.”
Gregg said her entire career is targeted around working with Indigenous youth.
“I want to continue that work to help them, see them thrive and see them succeed.”
It’s critically important pageants include education, Gregg said.
“That's part of us taking back our spot in Canada and our places at the table as Indigenous people. I think including that into the pageant is recognizing that we have these talents and we have these opportunities . . . we have these skills and we can also achieve what we put our minds to,” she said.
“Aleria McKay was the one who started the pageant. She really wanted to focus on community, culture and leadership. She wanted to also focus on showcasing our Indigenous roots and our traditional cultures, all while still coming together as Indigenous sisters and just creating new bonds."
Gregg said there were 26 Indigenous women in the pageant and she made 25 new friends.
“Everybody was super friendly – everybody was super nice. Everybody uplifted each other and I still message the girls every day since the pageant and I definitely will be keeping in touch with them,” Gregg said.
There were a few things contestants needed to prepare for the pageant.
“We had to prepare a community scrapbook that showcased where we're from and our community service. And then we had to prepare a personal essay where we talked about what it meant to be an Indigenous ambassador.
“We also had to prepare for an interview. And finally, we had to prepare a traditional presentation for the final show, which showcased something related to our culture,” she said.
Gregg said for the final show, she spoke about Ode'imin, which means strawberries.
“It's traditional medicine in my culture and it’s women's medicine. To be able to speak about it and relate to the fact that it was an Indigenous woman pageant just felt really special to me.
Gregg said the pageant taught her a few things.
“I learned to just put yourself out there and even though you might not know what the outcomes are, just to try and believe in yourself and just be confident in what you do.
"I really want to bring that back to the youth in my community and the youth across Canada because it's super important to just believe in yourself and be confident,” Gregg said.
Miss Indigenous Canada 2024 was a three-day event geared towards upcoming Indigenous leaders.
Its mission is to empower and encourage young Indigenous women to develop skills, give back to their communities and connect to their culture.
The pageant was held from July 25 to 27 on Six Nations of the Grand River, Ont.
