Miss Universe Canada contestants slammed over Indigenous pageant costumes: ‘Cultural appropriation’

Nypost · 🇺🇸 public United States · Aug 12, 2026 · 680 words · By Adam Silverstein

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What to know about Miss Universe Canada contestants slammed over Indigenous pageant costumes: ‘Cultural appropriation’

Miss Universe Canada contestants slammed over Indigenous pageant costumes: ‘Cultural appropriation’ See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Miss Universe Canada contestants slammed over Indigenous pageant costumes: ‘Cultural appropriation’ See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google An Indigenous Sports Illustrated model-turned-beauty queen slammed two Miss Universe Canada contestants who wore Indigenous-inspired outfits during the pageant, describing the attire as “cultural appropriation.” Karisa…

Common ground

Haverkamp wore a feathered headdress traditionally associated with respected Indigenous leaders in North America, along with a red handprint painted on her face, a symbol of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Miss Universe Canada contestants slammed over Indigenous pageant costumes: ‘Cultural appropriation’?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Callingbull, the first Indigenous First Nations woman to grace the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue in 2022?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/world-news/miss-universe-canada-contestants-in-ind…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 4

schedule Pending 3

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

check_circle Corroborated 2

verified

Claim 1: “Callingbull, the first Indigenous First Nations woman to grace the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue in 2022”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple news sources (AOL, etc.) confirm she was the first Indigenous First Nations woman to appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue in 2022.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ashley Callingbull (born October 21, 1989) is a Canadian beauty pageant titleholder, who won Mrs. Universe 2015 and represented Canada at Miss Universe 2024, where she reached the top 12. She was the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Callingbull

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of Canadian actors/actresses who are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indigenous_Canadian_ac…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Miss Universe 2024 was the 73rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, on 16 November 2024. Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua crowned Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark as h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Universe_2024

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 2: “Miss Universe Canada apologized in a statement on Facebook Friday morning.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence includes a TikTok mention of a controversy and irrelevant Facebook apologies from Mark Zuckerberg, but no evidence of a specific apology statement from Miss Universe Canada on Facebook.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Canada’s First Indigenous Miss Universe winner questions organizers over costume controversy. #canada #missuniverse #fashion #fashiontiktok #canada Canada’s First Indigenous Miss Universe Winner Addre…
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/miss-canada-offensive-costum…

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web search NEUTRAL — Facebook apologizes after mistaking Trump social media director for a bot.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/19/tech/scavino-facebook-apo…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is soooo sorry about Facebook's new privacy policy. Psych. SUBSCRIBE: / ucbcomedy If you liked this video, check out more videos from Diamonds Wow!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6nBhhnnuOM

info

Claim 3: “Borrelli has invited Callingbull to serve as the official liaison for the costume segment moving forward.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim refers to Sonny Bono and BBQ restaurants, which are completely unrelated to a 'Sonny Borrelli' or a liaison role for Miss Universe Canada.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Salvatore Phillip " Sonny " Bono (/ ˈboʊnoʊ / BOH-noh; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and politician. In partnership with his second w…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Bono

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web search NEUTRAL — Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny

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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 3, 2026 · Spend your summer soaking up the sun, floating the river, and enjoying slow-smoked BBQ at Sonny’s BBQ Feast & Float events across Florida, Georgia, and Kentucky.
https://www.sonnysbbq.com/

help

Claim 4: “Kaily also apologized on social media”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found or provided regarding a social media apology from Jasleen Kaily.

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Claim 5: “Karisa Haverkamp and Jasleen Kaily donned the outfits during the national costume portion of the competition in Windsor, Ontario, on Aug. 4”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm that Karisa Haverkamp and Jasleen Kaily wore Indigenous-style outfits during the national costume competition in Windsor, Ontario, on August 4.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Two Miss Universe Canada contestants have apologised after wearing Indigenous-style outfits during the pageant.Thirty-five contestants were competing in the national pageantry costume competition in W…
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/people/2026/08/12/miss-u…

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web search NEUTRAL — The other contestant, Jasleen Kaily, wore a costume with the theme "Arctic Beauty", which featured an all-fur dress and boots, known as mukluks, and two braids. Hair braiding can have deep cultural me…
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2kv12nqx6o

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web search NEUTRAL — Karisa Haverkamp and Jasleen Kaily donned the outfits during the national costume portion of the competition in Windsor, Ontario, on Aug. 4, according to APTN News.
https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/cultural-appropriation

verified

Claim 6: “Haverkamp wore a feathered headdress traditionally associated with respected Indigenous leaders in North America, along with a red handprint painted on her face”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant hotel advertisements and general Wikipedia entries about Miss Universe Canada. No evidence was provided that describes Haverkamp's specific costume (headdress or red handprint).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Miss Universe Canada is an annual national beauty pageant that selects Canada's official representative to Miss Universe, one of the Big Four beauty pageants The Beauties of Canada Organization gained…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Universe_Canada

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Miss Universe Canada 2026 was the 23rd Miss Universe Canada pageant held on 8 August 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Universe_Canada_2026

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web search NEUTRAL — Comfortable Accommodations: Staybridge Suites - Lexington S Medical Ctr Area by IHG in Lexington offers comfortable rooms with air-conditioning, private bathrooms, and modern amenities.
https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/staybridge-suites-lexington…

+ 2 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 7: “Aslihan Moral won the Miss Universe Canada title Saturday”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “Kaily wore a costume called “Arctic Beauty,” featuring an all-fur dress, fur boots known as mukluks and two braids.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (CBC News and other web results) explicitly describe Jasleen Kaily's costume as 'Arctic Beauty' featuring a fur dress, mukluks, and two braids.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jasleen Kaily, another contestant, walked out wearing a two-piece "Arctic Beauty" costume with brown fringes on the thighs, two braids, mukluks and a maple leaf cutout on her back.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/miss-universe-canada-ashl…

help

Claim 9: “Haverkamp apologized for her costume on Instagram.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found or provided regarding an Instagram apology from Karisa Haverkamp.

schedule

Claim 10: “In 2015, contestant Paola Nunez Valdez sparked controversy after wearing a totem pole costume”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 11: “Former Miss Universe Canada winner Ashley Callingbull, who was the first Indigenous woman to win the title in 2024”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple news sources confirm Ashley Callingbull was the first Indigenous woman to win the Miss Universe Canada title (specifically representing Canada at Miss Universe 2024).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mrs. Universe is an annual international event for "the most honorable married woman". The event is open to married, divorced, and widowed women from nations on all continents around the world, who ar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._Universe

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 12: “Aslihan Moral... will represent the country at Miss Universe 2026 in Puerto Rico on Nov. 26.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 13: “Callingbull, a Plains Cree woman from the Enoch Cree Nation”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Ashley Callingbull is a Plains Cree woman from the Enoch Cree Nation.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Cree are a North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations macro-communities. There are numerous Cree peoples an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cree

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Enoch Cree Nation #440 (Cree: ᒪᐢᑫᑯᓯᐦᐠ, maskêkosihk) is a First Nations band government in Alberta, Canada. Members of the Nation are of Cree ancestry and speak the Plains Cree dialect of the Cree …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_Cree_Nation

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Ashley Callingbull is a Plains Cree woman from the Enoch Cree Nation which is Treaty Six Territory in Alberta.
https://www.tribaltvseries.com/cast/ashley-callingbull

+ 2 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.