Lazore recognized at pageant
Julia Kanathiiostha Lazore said she made lifelong friends at the Miss Indigenous Canada pageant. Courtesy Julia Kanathiiostha Lazore
The past few months have been jam-packed for Kanehsata’kehró:non Julia Kanathiiostha Lazore – while juggling getting married in May and graduating from the Ratiwennenhá:wi Adult Immersion program in June, she’s spent every morsel of free time preparing for the Miss Indigenous Canada pageant, which took place in Six Nations of the Grand River last weekend.
“It’s been some of my most important life events, but I’m so grateful I was able to do all of this,” said Lazore. “It didn’t even feel like a competition. It felt like joining a sisterhood.”
This year’s competition is the second annual edition of the pageant, which last year saw 26 individuals compete for the inaugural crown, including Kahnawake’s own Kahentísa’s Alfred. The winner that year was Jessica McKenzie, who hails from Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba.
She was at the event this year to welcome the 19 competitors selected for this year, eventually crowning Gena Boubard, who is Anishinaabe from Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation.
Boubard, is two-spirit and identifies as non-binary, and McKenzie said it was an honour to pass them the crown.
“Gena is the first two-spirit person to not only compete in Miss Indigenous Canada but now hold the crown. Their voice, their teachings, their platform, is essential during this time, not just for them but for many Indigenous youth who may be struggling with identity,” McKenzie said.
Contestants and supporters gathered for a formal gala, where the winners were announced - Lazore made the top five, and was recognized with the Community Service Award for her commitment to local initiatives, including work with language, land defending, and sustainability.
That work also led to her forming her own clothing line featuring the slogan “Unceded Land,” which she also sold as part of a fundraiser that raised around $2,000 for the Tsi Ronterihwanónhnha ne Kanien’kéha Language and Cultural Center.
“I’m just so proud of my achievement, honestly it blew me away,” she said.
During the competition, participants also completed rounds of speeches, during which Lazore spoke about her connection to the language. She said she surprised even herself at how impassioned a public speaker she’s grown to be, and shared some words in Kanien’kéha with the audience.
“To get that opportunity to speak Mohawk on the mic and to hear everyone cheering and to represent Kanesatake was so special,” she said. “My whole purpose in doing this pageant was to represent Kanesatake on the national stage because I feel that we’re one of the communities that is so forgotten about.”
Making a community scrapbook was part of the process, something Lazore said helped her connect with more people at home. Courtesy Julia Kanathiiostha Lazore
Being vulnerable and sharing her experience with other competitors was a highlight of the experience for Lazore, who added that she’s walking away from the competition with a new group of friends, including Boubard, who she shared a room with throughout the three-day pageant.
“One day we stayed up until 3 a.m. just laughing and talking about our experience throughout the pageant and I’m just so extremely proud of them,” she said.
She’s also left with a renewed passion to build connection between communities.
“Once I got there and saw all the contestants speaking their languages, wearing their beadwork and ribbon dresses, talking about their passions and struggles from their home communities, it really inspired me to bring that energy to Kanesatake,” she said.
“Across Turtle Island, each and every community has the same issues, and I realized the one solution we have to our problems is bringing our communities together, the real solution is connection.”
Lazore hopes that her experience at the pageant can inspire other young Kanehsata’kehró:non to follow in her footsteps - especially women in the community, who she said need to support each other in achieving their dreams.
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“My advice for anyone doubting themselves would be that you’re put on Earth with your unique light, and if you don’t shine that light out into the world proudly, you’re doing yourself, your family, and your community a disservice,” she said.
“We did not as a people go through years and years of colonization and trauma just for our children to stand here and doubt themselves. You are the seed that was prayed for, wished upon, and you’re finally here, so you have to do what makes you happy.”
