"Miss Teenage Six Nations running for Miss Teenage Canada"

SIX NATIONS - This summer Miss Teenage Six Nations, Aleria McKay, will be representing Six Nations at this year's Miss Teenage Canada held in Toronto on August 9. There has never been a Native girl who has won this pageant before and she would like to be the first.

"I thought it would be a really good way to promote and support our community," McKay said.

McKay has begun her campaign already with a fundraiser, not for herself, but for "Feed the Children" as part of the prerequisites of participating and will be judged and scored on that as well.

The minimum to be raised by each candidate is $400, but the more you raise, the higher a score you get. McKay's goal is $3,000 and she is looking for 100, $30 sponsors. For every $30 raised McKay says she will perform a dare selected from a list of possibilities provided by the pageant.

"Even if I only get half-way there, it's still $1,500," she said.

Two Row Times' own Miss Six Nations, Chezney Martin, has thrown her support behind McKay's campaign.

"I have met Aleria and her mom and I know by how she talks and carries herself that she would be a great candidate for the Miss Teenage Canada," said Martin.

"I know that later on this year, I will be doing the same thing and I know I'd like to have support from community members and ambassadors as well," Martin said. "That's why I am supporting her. She is going as a representation of this community but she would be a good candidate for any community."