Ep. 19: Crown and Culture: Emma Morrison, Miss Word Canada

Emma Morrison is a powerhouse Indigenous woman who's breaking barriers as the first Indigenous Miss World Canada representative, preparing to compete in the Miss World finals in India on May 31st. 

Her Beauty with a Purpose project, "Ribbons," focuses on empowering Indigenous youth, particularly young girls, through education, cultural pride, and mentorship. She'll be representing not just Canada, but First Nations women on a global stage, carrying the hopes and spirits of her Ancestors.

Throughout our conversation, we explored the depth of Indigenous resilience, the importance of celebrating personal achievements, and the need for settlers to engage with Indigenous culture authentically. 

Emma's journey from a shy girl in a small town to an international pageant representative demonstrates that Indigenous women can excel in spaces not traditionally designed for them, all while maintaining their cultural integrity and commitment to community upliftment.

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Emma’s Bio: 

Emma Morrison, a proud Indigenous woman from Chapleau, Ontario, is the first Indigenous woman to win Miss World Canada. She is passionate about Indigenous empowerment, mentorship, and cultural reconnection.

Her Beauty with a Purpose project, Ribbons, uplifts Indigenous youth, particularly young girls, through education and cultural pride. In June of 2024, she created the “Ribbons Bursary,” which supports Indigenous girls at Chapleau Elementary Public School in their academic and personal journeys. 

Emma has worked with Indigenous communities across Canada, and spoken to over 10,000 students about self-empowerment. Now representing Canada on the Miss World stage in India this May, she continues to use her platform to inspire and uplift Indigenous voices.

Emma’s IG: @emmamorrison

Emma’s TikTok: @emma.morrrison

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Relentless Reflection:

• Where in my life am I silencing my truth to make others comfortable?
• How am I actively dismantling the colonial narratives that limit my potential?

Relentless Action:

• Donate directly to an Indigenous youth education fund or bursary program in your region.
• Audit your personal and professional spaces: Where can you amplify Indigenous voices and create tangible opportunities?

Relentless Resources:

• "Indigenous Writes" by Chelsea Vowel - a critical, accessible guide to understanding Indigenous-settler relations
• Indspire.org - national Indigenous charity investing in the education of Indigenous People, offering scholarships and resources

Join the RIW Patreon Community 

RIW Website

Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Transcript

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Right.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: all right. Welcome to our fireside chats on relentless, indigenous women. Podcast I have an incredible guest with me here today. Emma Morrison, who is Miss World, Canada. So Miss World, Canada. Emma Morrison is a proud, indigenous woman from Chaplow, Ontario is the 1st indigenous woman to win Miss World Canada. She is passionate about indigenous empowerment, mentorship, and cultural reconnection.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Her beauty with a purpose project ribbons, uplifts indigenous youth, particularly young girls through education and cultural pride.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: In June of 2024, she created the Ribbons Bursary, which supports indigenous girls at Chaplow, elementary public school in their academic and personal journeys.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Emma has worked with indigenous communities across Canada, spoken to over 10,000 students about self-empowerment, now preparing to represent Canada on the Miss World stage in India. This May, she continues to use her platform to inspire and uplift indigenous voices. And I'm very honored to have you here with me today, Emma.

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Emma Morrison: Hi! Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, I'm stoked that you're here, too, and side note for listeners. We're we're cousins.

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Emma Morrison: We are.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: It must be in our blood to like, take up space and like voice the truth as much as possible.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: I.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, yeah, it's very ancestral. And yeah, we were just talking about that before we started recording for this podcast that

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: you know taking up space, to speak truth, can be really difficult sometimes, and I was telling her that's been really difficult for me, even though I am called relentless, indigenous woman. I've had to unlearn people. Pleasing tactics. A recovering people pleaser is what I call myself.

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Emma Morrison: I, really, yeah.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, especially like. And and what I was just sharing earlier as well with her was,

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: that it's very the older we get, I think, as indigenous women.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: the less shits we give about what other people think, because we're recognizing the impact of being silent. You know, we see the impacts of silence. So it's time to speak up. And I'm personally starting to lean more into discomfort and being okay with being uncomfortable myself when I tell the truth.

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Emma Morrison: Absolutely.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: It's quite the journey, all right. So I have a quite a few questions that I'd like to ask.

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Emma Morrison: So for the relentless, indigenous women. Podcast it's an opportunity for indigenous peoples and non-indigenous peoples.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: To receive, you know, just unapologetic education and empowerment as well.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: So before we get into the nitty gritty of things, I'd love to know what is inspiring you right now.

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Emma Morrison: Absolutely. I love this question, because.

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Emma Morrison: as mentioned in my bio, I am preparing right now to compete at Miss World, and this is one of the largest international

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Emma Morrison: pageants. I say in quotation because they don't even consider themselves a pageant more so. A women's Empowerment Festival.

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Emma Morrison: But I'm the 1st indigenous woman to represent Canada on this global stage in 72 years, and something that's inspiring me right now is this journey towards the Blue Crown. But beyond that my culture, because

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Emma Morrison: when I won back in November of 2022, I remember

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Emma Morrison: feeling overjoyed and proud, but I knew that I carried like you like. We were talking about before the podcast started. I knew that I carried my ancestors with me and the spirit of 1st nations peoples across Canada. So this win. It really went beyond me. It was for so many indigenous peoples.

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Emma Morrison: And now I get to represent my culture that hasn't been done before at Miss World, and I'm really excited and honored to do so. So something that's inspiring me right now is my culture, my roots as a Cree woman.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Deadly. Yeah,

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: like your mom, too. I, your mom just exudes this light. And they honestly couldn't have chosen a better person to represent.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: You know Canada at this at this point in time, because you are honestly so genuine anytime I shared with people that. Oh, yeah, Emma Morrison is going to be on the podcast every single time. I share that they speak to your spirit, and how kind and gentle you are, like all around, like it's not just a facade that you put up.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: and I'm sure that you could probably attest to moments where you probably were with folks, that where it was a facade, and they weren't like that behind closed doors.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But yeah, we met. Well, I used to live on the East Side in the same city as you. And we went out to dinner, and we went out dancing, and I just remember feeling so like

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: warm with you, and that's like the kind of energy. I think that's the medicine that you bring to the world is. Yes, we have these hard truths that we need to talk about. But with you. I feel like it lands in a soft space.

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Emma Morrison: Cool. Thank you.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: You for that, like, it's so needed. Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Thank you very much. Honestly, I learned these

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Emma Morrison: these parts of me, like you said is definitely from my mom, and the other strong women in my family.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But.

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Emma Morrison: I gain a lot of inspiration from my mom and my stepdad, because

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Emma Morrison: in 2018 they opened their home for foster children. So just that act alone is a Testament, that if you have enough love and compassion to

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Emma Morrison: give to others who need it most, then do it. So since then we've I've had over 15 foster siblings.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh!

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Emma Morrison: I think that growing up in a household that has so much love to give to kids, and then also myself. That's why I am the woman I am today because of the strong people in my family, so very thankful for them, and thank you for your kind words too.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, of course, so I'm sure that your mom will be listening to. She'll probably cry a little bit like, honestly, your mom like that's what you know. They say you don't remember people from what they say to you. You remember on how they made you feel. And your mom. It was just so welcoming like I remember her big smile. I think she

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: who I was because I look a lot like my mother, so she's like, Oh, my God, it's Candace!

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: So it's just that. But she was genuine about it. It's not like, Oh, I just recognize you. It was like, Oh, let's like connect here for a moment, and you were there, and she was so proud of you I think I might have been a teenager at that point. You were, I think, competing for in a teen pageant. I think.

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Emma Morrison: Yes, probably I was in Moose Factory at some point throughout 2018, because during that time I was also Miss Teenage, Canada as well.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, that was right. Yeah, yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, it's probably around. Then where we drove up on the winter road to go talk to the school and mooseneen and moose factory. Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: yeah, she's always been there part of my whole journey, my whole pageant journey. She was actually the very 1st one who inspired me to say yes to do pageants because I was so nervous. I was

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Emma Morrison: really scared about what people would say because they come from such a blue collar town.

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Emma Morrison: And it was kind of out of the ordinary. There wasn't lots of girls who did pageants. There's 1 or 2 did some before me, but they're a little bit older. But my mom, yeah, she's was the 1st person to tell me. Just go for it. If you don't like it. You never have to compete again. But just try something new. And I'm so happy I did, because go to Miss World in 2 months.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Leah.

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Emma Morrison: Out.

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Emma Morrison: I've.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: So damn proud of you, so damn proud. And

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: just so. Listeners know as well like Emma's community work is something that we may not often see on social media because she was in Moose Factory. So my reservation this past summer at the gathering of our people thing that we have every year

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: in August, and she did a whole like like a pageant, and like a little mini pageant for the for the indigenous girls on the reservation, and I saw one of my previous classmates.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: and her daughter was on stage, and she was just so proud. I'm like, Oh, my God! Like it's it's like you could see the kids like eyes light up. And they were really thought about the questions that you were asking.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: It was so sweet. So thank you for doing that for our kiddos.

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Emma Morrison: Thank you so much. I hope to make that an annual event, because that was so much fun. Oh, my goodness! And the whole point of the bringing the pageant to Goop was not to bring glamour, but to encourage our young girls in the community to.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: And.

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Emma Morrison: Step outside their comfort zone and try something new. And when you answer a question

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Emma Morrison: as a little girl in front of an audience of people. It could be so scary, but they all did it.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: So I.

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Emma Morrison: No, I remember thinking, after my 1st pageant.

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Emma Morrison: if I could do that, answer a question in front of an audience of people, I could do anything, so that helped me feel empowered to raise my hand up in class, not being like a shy little red girl anymore.

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Emma Morrison: using my voice and then going into an interview with confidence. That's why I wanted to bring the Mini empowerment pageant to goop to empower our young girls, because, like I said, pageantry is beyond what you might see.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: It's.

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Emma Morrison: It goes deeper than that. So that was awesome. I hope to come back

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Emma Morrison: this summer. I got yeah, we're we're 25 now.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, already. I know. I know. I'm still wrapping my head around that like.

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Emma Morrison: I know.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, yeah, he who is

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But you talk about this earlier. You mentioned that pageantry in a quotation marks. Yeah. And you you framed it as something else. Could you tell me a little bit more about that?

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Emma Morrison: Of course. So what I love most about the Miss World system is that they don't consider themselves the pageant, but more so. A festival of empowerment to bring different women from around the globe to showcase their culture and showcase themselves outside of the pageant norm. So there's no swimsuit competition at Miss World. Actually. So that's something I really love about Miss World. But

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Emma Morrison: I think that

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Emma Morrison: framing it in a way where it's a festival is more modern. And that's why I love the Miss World Organization. So I'm so excited to be there. Finally.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Don't let me.

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Emma Morrison: Time in 2 months I'll be in India. So.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, my, gosh, yeah, I'm gonna be following you like crazy.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: I do. I'll be checking in how how you're doing.

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Emma Morrison: Absolutely. Oh, my gosh! I'll be like, think it's a 12 h time change difference.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, I know.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, man!

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Emma Morrison: I'll be posting lots on in the evening.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, that might take.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: A bit to get used to.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, it's okay. It's a, it's a experience of a lifetime. So if I'm tired.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: 100. Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: It's only for a short time to be tired, but enjoy the moment because it goes by so fast.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: No, seriously, seriously, take a lot of pictures.

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Emma Morrison: It's so funny, so many native people are telling me that.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Because we like pictures. There's like Facebook, 1st nation, like, we need the photos and the update.

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Emma Morrison: We'll take lots of pictures.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Well, because you, it's I think that's a Testament, you know, to like

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: the just how out of the box. And extraordinary this opportunity is, it's like we can live and experience this vicariously through you the like being on like you say you bring your ancestors. You also bring your current people with you that are living and breathing like me. I'm just like a fangirl like.

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Emma Morrison: Thank you. Yeah, absolutely like, regardless of what happens on this world, I'll already be so proud of myself. And that's how I compete with every pageant I compete.

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Emma Morrison: wanting to do my best, so preparing hard. But also I just know that the universe has a plan for me so

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Emma Morrison: just to accept that with with grace.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, for sure. And the last. Well, when we spoke and met up a few years ago, you elaborated a little bit on the last question that you were given.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: How like, how monumental that moment was, especially in the world of

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: of, you know this type of context.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Could you share a little bit about the last question that you answered at Miss World, Canada.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, my goodness!

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Emma Morrison: So I am very deeply spiritual, and I always believe that the universe has a plan for me, and I also believe in visualization. So

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Emma Morrison: for those who don't know Miss World, Canada, you compete for one week, and then at the final day, is the pageant where you go up on stage, and it's the evening gown and question and answer. So

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Emma Morrison: for my question and answer, they narrowed it down to top 8. So all of us ladies are backstage, random order, and we all receive a random question. They don't ask you a question that they think this girl might be able to answer this, so I'll ask her to help her out. So

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Emma Morrison: I remember being backstage, and I felt the nerves hitting because I've been listening to the girls questions ahead of me, and they're very political, like. One of them was about Queen Elizabeth.

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Emma Morrison: Very, very political.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: When she was still alive.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, exactly. There was something question along the lines like, is the British Monarch, anyways? But I remember starting to feel like very nervous, like getting lots of butterflies. But then I calm myself down because I actually had medicine in my bra.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: A great place for medicine.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: If I wore bras I'd put mine there too.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, I didn't have anywhere else to put it, so I just had it in my bra, and I was like holding on to my little piece of sage and praying the Creator like, okay, I'm getting nervous right now, but

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Emma Morrison: I just 100% surrender to what you have and plan in store for me. So if I go on stage and I get a hard question, and I

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Emma Morrison: and I totally

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Emma Morrison: don't do well. I stumble, and whatever. I completely surrender to that path, because then I'm not supposed to win. And I'm okay with that.

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Emma Morrison: So I get up on stage

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Emma Morrison: and again randomly selected, I get the 1 1st nation issues question being the only native girl in Top 8.

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Emma Morrison: And if I remember correctly, the question was.

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Emma Morrison: if I had to speak to the Government regarding the status of indigenous peoples due to the legacy of the residential school system. What would I say to them?

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Emma Morrison: It's so wild. Because

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Emma Morrison: while I was backstage after my prayer, I just I visualized myself getting a question like this and looking to my mom in the audience.

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Emma Morrison: And then, during that time in that moment it all came true to that present.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Cool.

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Emma Morrison: And then I answered my question, and I didn't say

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Emma Morrison: in a way where I played both sides like, Oh, Canada, we're doing okay. We're doing well, like we're trying like. I was very honest. And I said that we needed to do better, and we need to continue advocating loudly for our indigenous peoples, because I want to live in a country where we're all equal, and something something along those lines. And I remember walking off stage thinking like, oh, man like

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Emma Morrison: that was kind of tough like. That's a good answer for if I'm talking to other native people. But the judges aren't native native people in the audience are my mom.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Your mom.

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Emma Morrison: I'm like, I don't know which way this is going to go, but at least I spoke my truth in a moment of high pressure, because I was like I was speaking directly from my spirit. And then I ended up winning. And I was

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Emma Morrison: we have, and I'm so grateful for that

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Emma Morrison: a very surreal moment, because of the Universal mind like it was.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: It was so perfect.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: It's 1 of those like movie moments where you feel like you're in a movie while it's happening like, you're like, kind of body experience like, Oh, this is actually, this is actually happening.

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Emma Morrison: Yes.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But I'm really proud of the truth that you shared, because

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: that's really what's going to move anything forward. You can't move forward on facades.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Promises and pretty words. It just doesn't work like that any like anymore. Like I, we've done that. And it doesn't work. And we're still, you know, the the 94 calls to action for truth and reconciliation, like.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: I think, only 13 or 15 got called and got answered in the last 10 years.

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Emma Morrison: Whom.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: We need truth in a lot of these

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: sectors for those calls to action, because

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: in order to actually act on something, you need

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: to sit with the uncomfortable truth and move past it. I think, where a lot of people are staying stuck is that they're stuck in the the guilt, or the shame that they feel, or embarrassment.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But,

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: like, there's a way to move past that. We're not talking about our truth as indigenous people to make people feel bad. That's not the whole purpose. The purpose is to share the truth, and hopefully you can heal from those those ancestral wounds that were, you know, passed on to you, thinking that you also have

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: a a inherited right to to settle on these lands that were stolen.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But I could go like I could talk forever about that. But I think what settlers really need to know is that you need to heal from the discomfort like move through it, don't ignore it move, move through it. If indigenous peoples have to heal from our intergenerational trauma

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: to heal from colonialism, and those settler wounds that were passed on to you.

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Emma Morrison: Yes, absolutely.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: I 100% agree. And something that I also think, too, is that somebody might be thinking out there that I'm just one person like, really, I can't make all of the difference, but it starts with one person and inspire others around you and in your community to also make a positive change as well. And I think that's something that we underestimate is the power of

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Emma Morrison: just one person to step forward.

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Emma Morrison: So that's also really important to recognize as well.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, I can imagine how like, when you spoke that truth that day, how it reverberated throughout the audience, you know, because I'm sure, like. Usually in context like that, people are all about surface level stuff. But you went right for right, for the truth, we need to do better.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, absolutely. And that's.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yes.

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Emma Morrison: That's why I knew what I wanted to do with my platform if I were to win Miss World Canada, and that's something that I have been able to to do throughout my reign

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Emma Morrison: within the work that I do with my advocacy and my humanitarian project.

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Emma Morrison: It's a testament to that. To that moment where I was on stage answering that hard question, that these aren't just words. If you could see into the future and see, like what I will do with the title. It's a nice balance. Yeah, I don't know if that makes any sense, but it kind of does.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, it would. Totally. It makes sense to me. Thank you for sharing that.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: So with, you know, the pageant world, or women empowerment festivals in their context.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: What's something that people assume about you as Miss World, or as pageants, or these festivals? That couldn't be further from the truth.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, my goodness, I love this question because I get this a lot. I used to get lots of like is pageants like toddlers and tiaras sort of thing like you're just on stage in a sparkly gown, but

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Emma Morrison: it's so far beyond that. A title holder. They have to work hard in their community, but more specifically, miss World, because.

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Emma Morrison: Miss World, it has its own segment, and it's a beauty with a purpose portion, meaning that all delegates need to have a humanitarian project that provides change and hope in their communities.

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Emma Morrison: So throughout my journey as Miss World, Canada, I developed a my, my project is called ribbons, and

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Emma Morrison: what I do is work with indigenous girls and indigenous youth and youth across Canada to empower them. But

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Emma Morrison: people don't see that when they think about pageants, they don't see the humanitarian projects. They just see sometimes a crown.

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Emma Morrison: but it goes further than that. There's so much charities that our title holders have to work for and raise money for. And they're a leader, and they're a positive example in their their communities for young people and even elders as well.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, that goes into being a title holder. And throughout my reign I've done over

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Emma Morrison: like a hundred events. I think I've spoken to over 20 schools, and again in my bio, 10,000 students.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: A Testament to hard work. Yeah. Being a title holder. Honestly.

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Emma Morrison: again, it'd be easy if it was just gowns, but it's not, and that's why I don't do pageants. I do pageants for the

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Emma Morrison: to create positive change in my communities and be a voice of advocacy for my people.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, 100%. Now, that's really good to to talk about, because you know the the camp like when they roll publicly. That's what you see at first, st and then some people may forget like it continues on. So I really appreciate that it does come with accountability and transparency, that the winners or the participants need to be accountable to their community. It's not just about

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: like you, said the sparkly crown.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, absolutely. I've been working so hard on my beauty with purpose project. That's 1 of the

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Emma Morrison: the main source of excitement that I have for Miss World is to be able to share my work on a global stage. One of my proudest moments for my project was actually the development of the ribbons bursary. That helps the yeah. The young indigenous girls that attend my old elementary school by all the school essentials that they need.

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Emma Morrison: So I fundraised over $6,000 through selling my own ribbon skirts that I made, and my own beadwork and setting up booths and fundraisers at powwows.

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Emma Morrison: It's

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Emma Morrison: It's all this work. It goes back into my community to hopefully inspire that young, indigenous girl that she could achieve anything because I was that one girl who had doubts that maybe

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Emma Morrison: maybe the dreams that I have are too big for me, but they're achievable for somebody who has more opportunity. But by ribbons, bursary and the work that I do, it's to remind them that their dreams are within reach.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Amazing, because for doing that work that's just

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: like what what I do like in everything that I do, what inspired, relentless, indigenous women in the. In the 1st place, too, were my students. So when I was an elementary teacher

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: this was a place to talk about real truth, because eventually my students are going to grow up their 1st nations kids, they're going to grow up and like, what kind of world are they entering? You know, once they're adults. So I created relentless, indigenous women so that people can know the truth. And

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: A few years ago, when I went back home, a couple of my previous students came up to me, and they're like, What do you do now? And like? It was really hard to explain, like what I do now, but I wanted to give them like a really honest and real answer. And I'm like, I teach adults how to be kind to indigenous people.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, that's like.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Basically what I do like truth and then teaching them tools through this work through this podcast

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: like, it really does come down to the kids. Really? Yeah, always for for me. And it sounds like that for you with your

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Is it beauty with a purpose project? Right? Could you tell me a little more about that peace.

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Emma Morrison: Yes, of course. So I also, I relate 100%, because throughout my reign I have done lots of events with adults and

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Emma Morrison: with kids, and I've only experienced burnout. Think once, and I've I've been tired because it is hard work to be active all the time, but I never felt

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Emma Morrison: drained, ever working with kids.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, yeah.

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Emma Morrison: They just

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Emma Morrison: fuel my spirit. And that's why I wanted to focus so hard on my beauty with a purpose project ribbons for for children. So, as part of my project, I wanted to continue to speak to 2 kids

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Emma Morrison: about the importance of self empowerment, and I wanted to remind them that, regardless of where you come from, if you come from a reserve or the limitations you may face again. Your dreams are within reach, and then more about my beauty, the purpose project as the ribbons bursary.

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Emma Morrison: and there's been lots of very special moments within the ribbons bursary to granting these

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Emma Morrison: abundance of school supplies to these young girls like.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But.

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Emma Morrison: That's a really really impactful moments there as well.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Hmm, bye.

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Emma Morrison: Other part of my beauty at the purpose project

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Emma Morrison: is making ribbon skirts for indigenous women to reclaim their strength while wearing a traditional piece of clothing in a country where we face high challenges as indigenous women. So to date, I think I made around 44 ribbon skirts.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Good evening.

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Emma Morrison: Gifted them to people, from all, everywhere.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: And lastly, with my beauty, the purpose project.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, there's so many! It's what I like to describe. My project is ribbons as the umbrella, and there's so many.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Layers and things that fall underneath it. So I also teach.

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Emma Morrison: Tiktok Tiktok tutorials of how to make your own ribbon skirt at home. So I reached over 700,000 accounts on there, too.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Amazing.

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Emma Morrison: Wild.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, my gosh! And then also mentoring young girls, young, indigenous queens! So

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Emma Morrison: this pageant that I held at Goop.

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Emma Morrison: But then I also mentor, indigenous girls for pageants, completely for free. And one of them was this young girl that I met last year, and she ended up winning her pageant. It was Miss Ontario.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, it was.

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Emma Morrison: So awesome. That was the package that I won like 8 years before her. So.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, my God!

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Emma Morrison: Yeah. So there's lots of little moments that happen

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Emma Morrison: in my beauty with the purpose project. And I could talk all day about it. Yeah, because there's so many special little chapters, but

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Emma Morrison: I'm excited to present it to Miss world and showcase the power of our indigenous culture when

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Emma Morrison: so that's why it's called ribbons, because we're stronger while we're tied together than when we're not.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Exactly.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Thank you so much for sharing that I loved watching what you have been doing these past few years, and I saw the bursary project that you had, too, which I it inspired me, too, to have a bursary for my high school on my reservation

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: opposite school. So I have a bursary or a scholarship every year for a graduate that focuses on social justice because it's kind of in alignment like with what I do so super proud to keep that going, but I'm trying to find different ways to to incorporate and empower children as much as possible, particularly back home.

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Emma Morrison: Yes, absolutely, we definitely need that everywhere. So

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Emma Morrison: it's nice. I always get all my brainstorming ideas in the shower.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, really, yo, okay, there's something about water. I was just thinking.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: today, yeah. So anytime, I sit by the water, a river. It has to be a moving body of water, and same with the shower, because it's moving like like the way I see these are elements, right that have spirit. So I think like when.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: if there's like a flow, I really feel like that's

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: send something to our spirit of ideas. In my opinion, I've I've had my best ideas sitting by the river and in the shower.

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Emma Morrison: Honestly, it makes sense. I never thought about it like that, like I always thought it was kind of silly. How.

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Emma Morrison: whenever.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Whenever I have the chance to not be around my phone. And in the shower I have these great ideas. I'm like, Okay, I need to remember this like I can't write down. Obviously I have soap in my hair, but.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, something about water. Yeah. So being around water, I got all these great ideas. So yeah.

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Emma Morrison: we need to be around water more often.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: For real. Yeah, that's where I got the idea for

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: creating or getting certified in somatic movement or being a somatic practitioner, because I want to use so the body to heal it itself through movement, but connecting it to land, and then teaching educators how to do that for kids. So I created that program. Now that I'm actually going to Vancouver next weekend.

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Emma Morrison: Teach.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Early childhood educators how to do like circle time with their kids.

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Emma Morrison: So.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: To deeply connect with land, and that was an idea. Sitting by the water like.

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Emma Morrison: Oh!

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Time, and my fiance. So Alex is

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: brand name. Sacred thunder also came about, too. When we were by the water. We were sitting by the river.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, my!

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Emma Morrison: It holds so much energy, and it's positive. So it's so nice to be around.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: It is, it is. And when you're wanting to like, let something go and let it flow like the day you surrendered before getting asked that question. It was like being like water, like just.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, it is glamical

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: No, exactly.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: So. I have another question for you, too. What would you say to the indigenous girls

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: who've been told that they're not the right fit for big dreams like this.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, my goodness, my cry! I'll try and compose myself. But that definitely hits close to home, because I feel like I was that little girl like

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Emma Morrison: yesterday. I remember so clearly being scared to try something new. And within my talks I always talk about

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Emma Morrison: to kids to step outside your comfort zone, and for me that was pageantry. But for you it could be anything. It could be going to a new school or going to university, or whatever the case may be.

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Emma Morrison: But I was that one girl

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Emma Morrison: wanting to step outside my comfort zone, and

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Emma Morrison: I remember being told by some of the older girls in my town that that pageant. It's too big for Emma.

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Emma Morrison: like it's kind of lack of better terms, like holy cow like it's.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Thank you.

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Emma Morrison: Not something that I could handle. And

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Emma Morrison: so I just remember feeling like very disappointed because

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Emma Morrison: I thought that maybe she was right. Maybe they all were right.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But.

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Emma Morrison: What I would tell to that little girl is to surround yourself with positive.

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Emma Morrison: a positive support system. And for me, that was my mom and my stepdad, and for them it could be

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Emma Morrison: their grandparents, or their cousins, or their friends, their parents.

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Emma Morrison: But they don't. It doesn't need to be huge like. My support system at that time was 2 people to encourage me to try something new in a place where maybe I don't fit.

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Emma Morrison: But I tried it, and turns out they were wrong.

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Emma Morrison: Get in.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, yeah.

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Emma Morrison: What I was pretty darn good at it.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: And I went to that pageant, and I won.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yep.

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Emma Morrison: So I'm happy that I didn't let those words stick

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Emma Morrison: to me too too long and too harshly, but I brush them off.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Bye.

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Emma Morrison: Surrounding myself with positive, loving people, and like I said, it was just 2 people at that time.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: So.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: And honestly, I think your strength, too, was even the fact that, like

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: as indigenous women, we can't. We don't fit in these boxes, anyway. So it was just you being yourself like, and you excelled in that space by being yourself and telling your truth. So it's not that

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: we're not the the right fit. It's that

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: we can bust open those doors, you know, and break down those walls and those barriers, because sometimes

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: sometimes needing like trying to mold ourselves. We can deny pieces of ourselves along the way, and I love how you've you've stuck with your truth, and I think what truth does. And when we are authentic, we expand

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: that place.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Like, for example, pageantry. And these spaces is when you are yourself as Emma Morrison as a 1st nations. Woman.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: you're not trying to fit in, particularly into those boxes. You're actually expanding it because you're being fully yourself. And you're living in your full truth.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: So yeah, I just think, you know when you're authentic.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: That's when you find your people, and that's where you find I don't know. Just

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: sometimes we don't always need to fit in the black and white boxes.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: You can make it your own and bust it open.

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Emma Morrison: Absolutely that that is so true, because

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Emma Morrison: something that I was taught by one of my mentors is that yeah, it's really cool to be the first.st But what's most important is not being the last.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: And that.

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Emma Morrison: Why I took on that mentorship role to pass on what I've learned and my knowledge to Tia. And she ended up winning Miss Ontario.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, okay, now, she's also coaching. So it's.

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Emma Morrison: Just a very positive ripple effect, and that all came from me living well, not me, but my story. It started with

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Emma Morrison: me, taking that 1st step outside my comfort zone, thinking like, okay, maybe I'm not the right fit. But I'm going to try anyways.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: I was the right fit. That's.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: I ended up winning, and then I went on to Miss Teenage, Canada. I ended up winning that, too.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: The world has.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Keeps winning. That's just all I do is win-win-win.

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Emma Morrison: But another important lesson that I've learned, too, throughout my reign is that

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Emma Morrison: it's really important to celebrate your wins, too, because as indigenous peoples. Sometimes we're a little too humble, in my opinion.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: I don't know about. I can't speak for all of us, but for me personally I was always taught to be humble.

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Emma Morrison: Sorry I have a dog here, a little bark.

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Emma Morrison: but I was taught to be be humble, and so whenever I would tell people, I won Miss North Ontario, Miss teenage Canada, Miss World Canada, I would always say like I'm not trying to break or

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Emma Morrison: whenever they would congratulate me, I'd say like, Oh, it's no big deal.

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Emma Morrison: But it wasn't until later on, where I learned from other mentors that it's okay to say, Thank you. And it's okay to celebrate yourself.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: So now, like I might sound

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Emma Morrison: maybe like I'm bragging. But you know what I worked hard.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, for real.

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Emma Morrison: Brag a little bit.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Oh, 100%. That's how I like currently feel right now. So I just got my doctorate in January. And it's march right now as we record this. And I've

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: been hearing like a lot of congratulations and stuff. And

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: and like, I'm like, Yeah, that's just because I just kept going like I kind of like downplayed like the.

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Emma Morrison: Bye.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: You know, the whole process. I'm like, yeah, it's just because I just didn't give up like. But that part alone. The not giving up part is is huge for some folks, you know. But I'm still getting used to even that title of doctor.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: It's a little intimidating, and it feels like it's someone else and not me. Did it feel like that for you like it's someone else and not you.

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Emma Morrison: You know what sometimes. Yes, like.

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Emma Morrison: I really had to work hard to get over that. I know exactly how you feel where you work. I know you worked hard. It's not easy to become a doctor in your field, so there was some sort of hard work somewhere for you to get there. And

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Emma Morrison: when people say congratulations, it's so important to say, Thank you. And that's

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Emma Morrison: something that I had to work really hard on. When people it took me. I won my 1st pageant in 2017, and I won Miss World Canada in 2022. So it took me that long to finally say, thank you.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, wow!

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Emma Morrison: Hard, you know. So.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Important to celebrate yourself, and for in the imposter syndrome.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: At 1 point I did. I did feel like, Oh, maybe I'm not good enough

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Emma Morrison: to hold this title, but at the end of the day I sound like a broken record. I worked so hard.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah. No.

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Emma Morrison: I deserve this, and I deserve to represent Canada like this is my

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Emma Morrison: everything that I love right now is helping my community. And and

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Emma Morrison: like I said, I've done over a hundred events to make positive change. I've worked hard. I deserve this. So I'm overcoming that imposter syndrome because I just know the

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Emma Morrison: my thought, my whole soul was put into it. So yeah, there's nothing to feel shame when it comes to my spirit, and how I feel about it.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, exactly. I think the question, too, like that. So the reason why I did my Phd. Too, in the 1st place, was the question of why me? And then I'm like yo like, why, why not me?

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: And with you like? Why, me? And then you were like, why not me, you know, like getting to that point where, like, maybe maybe I can do this. And when I got my the day before I got my title, as like doctor, and I defended like my dissertation.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: I had a whole nervous breakdown like I was crying all day because I'm like I don't deserve this title at all. I don't think I should be, doctor

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: and like it. I think it like I think it's a whole identity kind of crisis, because one day you're just Emma Morrison. One day. I'm just Candace Link later. And then one day, you're Miss World Canada. All of a sudden it's like an identity shift

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: and a sense of like a huge sense of responsibility that comes with that.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, can you share a little bit more about that?

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, I guess having a title, it does feel like you're maybe on a pedestal a little bit.

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Emma Morrison: But when we work so hard to achieve something like it's just important to celebrate yourself on every every

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Emma Morrison: age and every stage of life that you're in. So celebrating yourself is so important, because I do see that lots with like 1st nation communities is, I'm like, like, it's nothing like.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, it.

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Emma Morrison: We work so hard and we have so much heart and soul into the the work that we do. And like. I said. It's nothing to feel like you're bragging about when

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Emma Morrison: you put hours and years into your craft, into your work. It's almost would be.

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Emma Morrison: You're doing yourself a disservice to not say congratulations, because I wouldn't say I wouldn't hold back if that was my sister or my mom or my aunt

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Emma Morrison: cousin, if they were doing something awesome, I'd be like

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Emma Morrison: screaming, crying, throwing up like, Oh, my gosh! This is wild! Good for you! So for myself, too, and.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Something that I.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Good.

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Emma Morrison: Like younger kids is that it's always okay to celebrate yourself and celebrate your friends. Don't be shy.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Life is too short to.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Email.

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Emma Morrison: Proud of yourself.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: I know. And you know what's so cute, though, too, it's like, Okay, like, I am a firm believer that we are just adults. Sorry. We're just children pretending to be adults. We're just

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: yeah

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: pretending to be adults. Yeah, like inside, like, I know, I do public speaking. And so do you. But like inside, I'm actually a really shy girl. I'm really quiet. And to myself, in a homebody that's like me to my core. I'm actually really shy.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But I think it's really cool to just maybe entertain another version of ourselves

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: on what that would feel like, too, because I can be very shy, and you know just that homebody I love being a homebody. I love my own company like.

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Emma Morrison: Oh, my! Gosh!

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, exactly 0.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: That's me, too. And I'm also a public speaker and stuff. And like, it's, it's okay to have a duality. I think.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Bringing our younger self with us.

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Emma Morrison: Absolutely. I totally agree with

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Emma Morrison: the children in an adult's body. Yeah, it's it's so crazy to me because I feel like I'm 17 still. But I'm like I'm going 25 this year.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, but.

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Emma Morrison: I think it's so important to explore other versions of yourself, too, like, I totally feel the fact that I'm also a homebody like I'm here in my snuggy.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, yeah.

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Emma Morrison: I could stay in my apartment all day and be happy with that.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But.

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Emma Morrison: I could also. I also love to travel. I love to be around.

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Emma Morrison: Do and see.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: New things and experience different cultures. So you can have different versions of yourself that maybe Monday. I just want to

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Emma Morrison: stay here in my apartment, and then maybe next month I'll go to India.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Exactly, literally.

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Emma Morrison: Later.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: So it's okay to have different facets of yourself. And I think, like, you know.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: as indigenous people are like from the res, like, we're kind of compartmentalized as like, you can only be this

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: part. You can only be this type of native or this

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: type of personality. But you cannot. You're actually an expansive human like human. You're a spirit that can expand and learn and grow.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, absolutely. There's so many different parts of ourselves like we shouldn't always just fit ourselves into a comfy bubble like.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Exactly.

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Emma Morrison: There's lots of different things about me like I like to get dirty in the bush.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Go for whatever fishing, but I also like I'm not

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Emma Morrison: shame to admit it. I also like to dress up and feel

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Emma Morrison: put on makeup wear a gown like there's lots of different parts about me, and that goes for everyone, too.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Exactly.

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Emma Morrison: Recognize as well.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Exactly. Today's laundry day today. So like I don't have.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Well, I like, I I'm wearing a black shirt right now. This is like it doesn't look good on my pants right now. I don't have the best pants on, but.

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Emma Morrison: Good.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: But yeah, that's just like you don't always have to be prim and perfect, like even, you know, when you're in the world of pageantry, or even in fashion, and any type of

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: I don't know if, being a professional educator myself, I don't have to always be on that type of.

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Emma Morrison: Personality. You know what I mean. Yeah, I totally know what.

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Emma Morrison: Sometimes, with my daily preparations for Miss World, it's not as glamorous as people think like I am in my apartment. Sometimes I'm a little stinky, like I'm only in one spot all day working on my laptop, and

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Emma Morrison: like it's.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Hate wash hair day, too. Like, yeah, I do know, like wash hair day.

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Emma Morrison: I know I'm like 3 days past washing.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: I went to my hairstylist the other day, and it was like a while since I washed my hair, and she's like, Oh, you're greasy girl today.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Like, yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Wow!

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: We're really close. We're friends. So. But it was just hilarious, like I can be that. And then I could be, you know, dressed up to the 9th and like go to New York fashion week and stuff like that, too, with Alex.

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Emma Morrison: Exactly.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: We don't have to be boxed in.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, we're diverse.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: all right. So before we end off, I do have one last question, and I like to ask this to every guest, because settlers do tune in as well. Yeah, and allies. So what is one thing that you wish settlers knew.

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Emma Morrison: You know, I think, like I mentioned very quickly before. Sometimes when we think about like big pictures, big issues and social causes, we think that maybe me myself, like I won't be able to make a difference, because maybe I only have like

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Emma Morrison: a small idea. Or maybe I'm not too knowledge about the topic. But you yourself can make such a large impact. And, like I mentioned before, you could inspire others to also create change in the community as well. So something that I wish settlers knew was just that that.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Hmm.

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Emma Morrison: You can make a difference, and something that I

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Emma Morrison: always advocate for is to come to a powwow. There's so many of my friends that haven't been to a powwow yet, and it's such a beautiful way to experience indigenous culture and welcoming towards everybody. And there's music and dance and food and things to buy.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Exactly.

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Emma Morrison: It's so much fun. If I were to be asked that question at Miss World, if

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Emma Morrison: I could take the Miss World Organization somewhere in Canada. Where would I take them? I would take them to Apollo.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: You don't do, Apollo. That's awesome.

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Emma Morrison: That's exactly where I would answer that.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: That's what I want settlers to know is like, we're very, very welcoming. And.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Feel free to ask questions, and you yourself can make a large impact by taking action and learning and immersing yourself in our culture in safe ways, like visiting a powwow.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah, exactly. And that's a very fun and accessible way, if you just like, you know, look out for it, especially in the summers, like Pow. Season is coming up

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: in June, I believe, or may

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: may cause. I know that Manitou Abbey, like, has a huge opening

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: as well like Winnipeg, the Manito Abbey festival. Yeah. So go like, check around your area. See what kind of pows are happening. Natives love Facebook.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Okay, Facebook. So just like type in like powwow, and then, like your city and.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, from there.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Ask around.

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Emma Morrison: Yeah, absolutely. Ask your native friends. They might know where the next.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Exactly. Well, Emma, thank you so much for coming on our podcast I loved our conversations today. You have so much to offer. Your spirit is just so beautiful. Not only are you beautiful physically, you're such a gentle soul to approach and to learn from. So thank you for being

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: that person, and that amazing, indigenous woman out there in the world. And I wish you all the best, all the very, very best in May, when you compete for Miss World.

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Emma Morrison: Thank you so much. I really appreciate everything that you do as well. I'm also very, very proud of you, too, so I hope you're also proud of yourself. But thank you for having me today. And the conversations that we had like. I definitely really needed this, too, because life right now it's a little hectic preparing. So this conversation it did so much for my spirit, so thank you for having me, and thank you for everyone who's at home, or wherever you are listening. So.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Yeah.

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Emma Morrison: Much.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Megraj. Thank you so much.

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Dr. Candace Linklater - RIW: Alright. Okay.