IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY
Nunavut has a new resident royal. Talia Maksagak, 22, of Cambridge Bay, was named fourth princess in the petite category at the Miss Canada Globe 2016 Pageant.

The pageant ran from Aug. 4 to 14 in Toronto, and included both regional and national competitions.

Victoria Madsen, left, Director of Mental Health for the Department of Health, and Talia Maksagak, right, of Cambridge Bay, at the Nunavut Tunngavik Inc's Inuit Summit on Social and Cultural Issues in Iqaluit, on Sept 7. Maksagak was named Miss Canada Petite Fourth Princess, as well as Miss Petite Nunavut, Miss Congeniality and People's Choice at the Miss Canada Globe 2016 Pageant in Toronto, Aug. 4 to 14. - Michele LeTourneau/NNSL photo

Her additional titles are Miss Congeniality, People's Choice - not surprising from the naturally charismatic young woman - and Miss Petite Nunavut.

For short, she is going by Nunavut Princess.

Maksagak says one goal for her reign is to raise awareness of the territory and the Inuit people.

"I'm concerned that a lot of Canadians are unaware of my culture and where I'm from," Maksagak said.

Attending a national competition made this even more apparent to her.

"A lot of (contestants) weren't aware of one of the last colonized indigenous people of Canada."

She spent her time in Toronto sharing that story and teaching people her language, Inuinnaqtun, while she learned about the cultures of other participants.

For the talent section of the competition she chose to demonstrate Arctic sports, including the Alaskan one-foot high kick, the Inuit high kick and the kneel jump.

"I chose Arctic sports because I wanted to prove how strong we are,"says Maksagak, even though Inuit culture isn't as well known in Canada. "We are working hard to bring back the old ways and are living between modern and traditional lifestyles.

"I wanted to show them that this is how they used to have fun. It's a lot of physical fitness, it's a lot of work."

Maksagak is an advocate for fun and fitness in her day-to-day life, too. She works in outreach and program development for the Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre. She runs aboriginal diabetes initiative programs, organizes walking programs and exercise programs like Zumba, as well as youth outreach and cultural initiatives for children.

Besides talents, competitors learned choreography for an opening act, evening gown and swimsuit competition and participated in an interview and platform category.

She is required to make 10 appearances to represent her title this year, and to recruit five girls to the Miss Canada Globe 2017 Pageant.

Her first appearance was at a woman's group in Cambridge Bay to talk about confidence and self esteem. Having grown up in the community she says "who I am today is because of these women at this woman's group." Sharing her experience with them was a way of giving back and encouraging women in her community.

She also attended the recent Inuit Summit in Iqaluit to discuss social and cultural issues that impact the territory.

Outreach aside, she says the pageant life is not for everyone, because the competition aspects require a lot of theatrics and practised presentation.

"Being a mini-celebrity and getting spray tans, wearing heavy makeup, dresses and heels is a lot of maintenance," Maksagak said.

She said some days were as long as 16 hours, and her face would get really tired from smiling all the time.

The women were often reminded that while it is a fun experience, the pageant should be treated like a serious competition requiring great dedication.

Now that Maksagak has earned her title from among the 82 participants at the Miss Canada Globe 2016 Pageant, she has to be committed to fulfilling her role throughout the year in order to retain the position.

Maksagak will also act as an ambassador for Canada at international pageants next year.

Her Facebook page, Nunavut Princess, shows her itinerary and logs her efforts in the territory.

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