Humans of UAlberta: Hailey Hamelin-Wilson 

University of Alberta undergraduate student Hailey Hamelin-Wilson is the first Indigenous woman to win the title of Miss Earth Canada. Miss Earth is an environmentally-focused beauty pageant.

Hamelin-Wilson is majoring in history, classics, and religion, and is involved in many initiatives at the U of A. As a former ambassador for the university and founder of the Powwow Dance Club, Hamelin-Wilson has been engaged in Indigenous advocacy long before winning the pageant.

Her passion for the competitions began in 2020 after modelling for a short time. There, she found a place to display her personality and voice. 

“I just really [find] joy in the pageant world just because I [have met] a  lot of strong women who are also humanitarians and [who are also] really strong advocates,” Hamelin-Wilson said.

“Another thing I [enjoy] about the Miss Earth pageant is it’s not always about being glamorous. They do go [pick] up garbage [and get] dirty tree planting. This is something that a typical pageant doesn’t do,” she added. 

“The main purpose of the pageant is to be spreading awareness of climate change … and sustainability,” Hamelin-Wilson says

The pageant competition, partnered with the United Nation (UN) and many other charities, has a focus on beauty and glamour. However, it also highlights the intelligence and advocacy efforts of its contestants, Hamelin-Wilson said.

“I have so much I can speak about because I did grow up on reserves so I have a lot of first-hand knowledge with land-based activities. I’ve seen the kind of effects that climate change has on culture itself,” Hamelin-Wilson said.

As Miss Earth Canada, she is focused on community engagement.

“I really [want] to … host my own events because in my home community there was a forest fire a few years ago. So one [of] my dream[s] [is] to have a community tree planting just to replenish a lot of those trees that we did lose,” she said. 

Starting in October, Hamelin-Wilson will be touring cities and completing community work for three weeks. This will focus mainly in improving ecological health and raising consciousness in topics of climate change and sustainability, Hamelin-Wilson said.

Hamelin-Wilson seeks to use her title to represent Indigenous Peoples

After the win, Hamelin-Wilson gained an international platform to speak about her culture and traditions as an Indigenous woman. 

Despite facing many struggles throughout her journey to becoming Miss Earth Canada, including the lack of world-wide understanding of Indigenous history in Canada, Hamelin-Wilson “[feels] like [she] accomplished [and] was noticed as an Indigenous person.”

She seeks to bring her online presence into her Miss Earth Canada advocacy, and use her platforms to shine even more light onto humanitarian issues and her connection with the land. 

Additionally, she hopes to bring awareness and representation to Indigenous Peoples on an international scale and emphasize Indigenous traditions that are beneficial for the environment. 

Hamelin-Wilson is set to represent Canada at the Miss Earth 2025 pageant in the Philippines later this year.