Brandi Morin
APTN National News 
Hot on the heels of her Mrs. Universe crown this past weekend, Ashley Burnham is using her new fame to call on Aboriginal people to vote out the Conservative party and its leader Stephen Harper in the upcoming election.

“It’s so crucial that we vote a new prime minister in, because we need a new prime minister,” said Burnham, from Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta. “I believe we need to fight for our rights and we need to vote.”

Burnham, 25, won Mrs. Universe 2015 on Saturday in Minsk, Belarus, becoming the first Canadian and First Nations woman to win the title for married women.

Winning  has catapulted the actress and model into the national and international spotlight.

She is using her voice to raise awareness of issues affecting Canada’s Indigenous people.

“Now that I have this title people are actually listening to me, which is amazing because now I have a voice,” said Burnham.

The top issue addressed in the Mrs. Universe competition was discussing ways to combat domestic violence. On the top of Burnham’s list is the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

 “I think that the murdered and missing subject is so crucial. It’s so sad. Say, for example, a Caucasian woman is missing in the news, it’s a big deal, but for First Nations women we are just pushed aside because there’s so many of us missing,” said Burnham.

 It’s issues like this and the adversarial relationship between the Conservative government and Canada’s Aboriginal people that are compelling Burnham to urge her fans to vote in the upcoming federal election.

And she plans to speak out while traveling around the world as Mrs. Universe in the next year.

“Other countries need to know what’s going on in ours. It feels like the government just does not care about us (First Nations),” she said. “This government is very controlling of our people and soon enough our rights might be taken away. And if I have that voice to bring awareness, I’m going to use it.”

more http://aptn.ca/news/2015/08/31/mrs-universe-calls-on-aboriginal-people-to-vote-out-stephen-harper/

Indian in the machine