The day after Ashley Callingbull accomplished a major life goal, she was busy lifting up another young Indigenous woman who was on her way to a big achievement. It was typical for Callingbull, a Cree First Nations woman from the Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta, who until recently was based in the Alberni Valley.
In March, Callingbull was named one of 13 finalists for the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition rookie of the year. She found out in late spring that her photo was included in the coveted edition.
“It is a monumental moment in my life,” she said at the time.
An experienced pageant participant, model and TV star, Callingbull joined the Swimfluence Network to learn more about being part of the SI Swimsuit team. She sent an application video, including a swimsuit photo shoot from Airforce Beach in Comox, B.C., and was chosen out of thousands of applicants. She travelled to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in March for the photo shoot.
“Representation is so important to me. It’s important for women…if they see my face they see their faces reflected in mine,” she said.
Callingbull was the first First Nations woman to become Miss Canada in 2010. She won the title of Mrs. Universe in 2015 at the same time as she was an activist for First Nations rights and environmental causes in Canada.
One could easily see her modelling clothing one day, mentoring youth another, dancing in traditional garb on yet another, or standing on stage defending Indigenous rights. She is proud of her culture. “My culture saved my life in so many different aspects,” she says.
She was five years old when she first experienced racism, and it made her ashamed to be native, she said. “I wish I could hold (five-year-old her) and tell her your Creator made you for a reason. Your culture is your strength.”
Life hasn’t always been kind to Callingbull. “I grew up living through some really difficult things,” she says. “Now I’m in a position where I can help people…that’s what I want people to remember me for, is this girl that came from nothing who has so much to give.”
She uses her voice and her platform to lift up others, and to lend her voice to those who feel like they don’t have one of their own. While she is proud of her accomplishments, and about her magazine layout, “for me, it’s not about the pictures, it’s about ‘who did she help.’”
Callingbull and her husband, hockey coach Wacey Rabbit, are so busy these days it’s difficult to keep up with them. Rabbit recently signed a contract as an assistant coach with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades, after spending a year assisting behind the bench with the B.C. Hockey League Alberni Valley Bulldogs. That means the couple is moving to the Prairies. Callingbull had already signed on and started working as a game host for the Canadian Football League Edmonton Elks. Now she will be a brand ambassador for both the WHL Blades and the Saskatoon Rush professional box lacrosse team.
Callingbull has partnered with Missanabie Cree Business Corporation to produce an Indigenous Youth Initiative web series, and she also signed a book deal with Harper Collins, she announced on social media in late June.
While Callingbull won’t be a mainstay in the Alberni Valley anymore, she will still play an important role in the lives of countless young Indigenous people in the area.
Susie Quinn is the Alberni Valley News editor.
