Miss Indian World

Last updated
Nicole Alek'aq Colbert, Miss Indian World 2008, at the Indian Summer festival in Milwaukee Nicole Alek'aq Colbert 9478.jpg
Nicole Alek'aq Colbert, Miss Indian World 2008, at the Indian Summer festival in Milwaukee

Founded in 1983, Miss Indian World is a five-day competition held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. [1] The event is part of the annual Gathering of Nations, the largest Native American powwow in the world. [2] [3] Young women from across North America represent their tribes and communities as they compete to win the crown. Rather than emphasizing contestants' outward appearance, Miss Indian World aims to select a winner who demonstrates a deep understanding of her culture, traditions, people and history. [4] [5]

Contents

Once awarded the title, Miss Indian World acts as a cultural representative, promoting individually-selected platforms, sharing Native American culture, and representing the annual Gathering of Nations event. [6] This role is important to the native community because it helps perpetuate traditions and overturn negative stereotypes. [5]

In addition to the title, Miss Indian World also wins prize money, the Miss Indian shawl and banner, a four-day ocean cruise, and a travel stipend to attend powwows, conferences, workshops, and festivals. [1] Previous Miss Indian World winners have continued to be sought-after speakers, even after they have passed on the crown. [7] [8]

Competition requirements

To qualify for Miss Indian World, contestants must be native or indigenous Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 as age requirements were updated for the 2018 pageant [9] with a verifiable tribal affiliation. They must also be single, never married, and have no dependents. [1]

Each contestant participates in four categories: Public Speaking and Personal Interviews, Traditional Talent Presentation, Dance Competition, and Essay. Contestants are evaluated based on their skill, as well as cultural knowledge about tribes and traditions. [10] The woman who accumulates the most points in each category will hold the Miss Indian World title for one year.

Winner history

YearMiss Indian WorldTribe
2024Kassie John [11] Navajo Nation/Diné
2023Tori McConnell Yurok Tribe/Karuk Tribe
2022Tashina Red Hawk Rosebud Sioux Tribe
2019–21Cheyenne Kippenberger Seminole Tribe of Florida
2018Taylor Susan [12] White Mountain Apache/Walker River Paiute Tribes
2017Raven Swamp [13] Mohawk Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Resigned February 2018)
2016Danielle Ta'Sheena Finn Standing Rock Sioux
2015Cheyenne Brady Sac and Fox /Cheyenne /Pawnee /Otoe / Kiowa-Apache /Hidatsa/Arikara /Tonkawa [14]
2014Taylor Thomas Shoshone Bannock [15]
2013Kansas K. Begaye Navajo Nation [16]
2012Jessa Rae GrowingThunder-Slivers Ft. Peck Assiniboine and Sioux [17]
2011Marjorie Tahbone Inupiaq and Kiowa [18]
2010Dakota Brant Mohawk [19]
2009Brooke Grant Hoopa, Yurok, Karuk and Chippewa [20]
2008Nicole Alek'aq (Colbert) Kaganak Yup'ik [21]
2007Megan Young Poarch Band of Creek [22]
2006Violet (John) Duncan Plains Cree/Taíno
2005Cassie Thomas Seneca Nation
2004Delana Smith Red Lake Band of Ojibwe
2003Onawa Lacy Navajo Nation/Mescalero Apache
2002Tia Smith Cayuga/Iroquois of the Six Nations Reserve
2001Ke Aloha May Cody Alo White Mountain Apache [23]
2000Lillian ‘Cepa’ Sparks Rosebud and Lakota Sioux
1999Mitzi Tolino White Mountain Apache/Navajo
1998April Whittemore Lumbee
1997Shayai Lucero Pueblo of Acoma/Pueblo of Laguna
1996Andrea Jack Tlingit/Yupik Eskimo
1995Crystal Pewo-Lightfoot Apache of Oklahoma/Kiowa
1994J.C. Lonetree Ho-Chunk Nation
1993Gloria Snow Stoney Nakoda First Nation
1992Lanette Asepermy Cheyenne/Kiowa
1991Janet Saupitty Comanche
1990LoVina Louie Coeur d'Alene/ Okanagan & Lakes Band of the Colville Confederated Tribes
1989Tammy Deann Billey Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
1988Prairie Rose Little Sky Pine Ridge Indian Reservation/Oglala Sioux
1987Jovanna Plenty (August – April) Cree/Assiniboine
1987Celeste Tootoosis (April – August) Cree/Assiniboine
1986Lisa Ewauk Nakoda/Dakota
1985Shelly Valdez Pueblo of Laguna
1984Codi High Elk Cheyenne River Sioux

See also

Related Research Articles

Powwow, also called Brauche, Brauchau, or Braucherei in the Pennsylvania Dutch language, is a vernacular system of North American traditional medicine and folk magic originating in the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Blending aspects of folk religion with healing charms, "powwowing" includes a wide range of healing rituals used primarily for treating ailments in humans and livestock, as well as securing physical and spiritual protection, and good luck in everyday affairs. Although the word "powwow" is Native American, these ritual traditions are of European origin and were brought to colonial Pennsylvania in the transatlantic migrations of German-speaking people from Central Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A practitioner is sometimes referred to as a "Powwower" or Braucher, but terminology varies by region. These folk traditions continue to the present day in both rural and urban settings, and have spread across North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powwow</span> Native American and First Nations cultural dance gathering

A powwow is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today are an opportunity for Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or public, indoors or outdoors. Dancing events can be competitive with monetary prizes. Powwows vary in length from single-day to weeklong events.

The Cozad Singers are a Kiowa drum group from Anadarko, Oklahoma. The group was founded by Leonard Cozad, Sr. in the 1930s, and consists of Leonard, his sons, grandsons, and other members of the family. Cozad, as they are commonly known, are southern style pow-wow and gourd drum, and have released several albums. They performed on the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Native American Music Album winning Gathering of Nations Pow Wow album, along with 15 other drum groups. Their most recent album, California Pow Wow, was released by SOAR Records in June, 2004, and won the 2005 Native American Music Award for Best Historical Recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fancy dance</span>

Fancy dance, Pan-Indian dancing, Fancy Feather or Fancy War Dance is a style of dance some believe was originally created by members of the Ponca tribe in the 1920s and 1930s, in an attempt to preserve their culture and religion. It is loosely based on the war dance. Fancy dance was considered appropriate to be performed for visitors to reservations and at "Wild West" shows. But today, fancy dancers can be seen at many powwows across the nation and even the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crow Fair</span> Festival of the Crow peoples

The Crow Fair was created in 1904 by Crow leaders and an Indian government agent to present the Crow Tribe of Montana as culturally distinct and modern peoples, in an entrepreneurial venue. It welcomes all Native American tribes of the Great Plains to its festivities, functioning as a "giant family reunion under the Big Sky." Indeed, it is currently the largest Northern Native American gathering, attracting nearly 45,000 spectators and participants. Crow Fair is "the teepee capital of the world, over 1,500 teepees in a giant campground," according to 2011 Crow Fair General Manager Austin Little Light.

Ohsweken is a dispersed rural community located within the Six Nations of the Grand River, in the County of Brant, Ontario, Canada. Approximately 300 of the 2,700 homes on the reserve are in Ohsweken, and it is the site of the reserve governmental and administrative offices.

American Indian Dance Theatre is a professional performing arts company presenting the dances and songs of Native Americans in the United States and the First Nations of Canada.

George Paul Horse Capture (A'aninin) was an anthropologist, activist, and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gathering of Nations</span> Native American pow-wow held in New Mexico

The Gathering of Nations is the largest pow-wow in the United States and North America. It is held annually on the fourth weekend in April, on the Powwow Grounds at Expo NM, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Over 565 tribes from around the United States and 220 from Canada travel to Albuquerque to participate.

A pow wow is a gathering of Native Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Halluci Nation</span> Canadian electronic music group

The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, is a Canadian electronic music group who blend instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations music, particularly vocal chanting and drumming. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, the group consists of Tim "2oolman" Hill, and Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas. Former members include co-founder DJ Jon Deck and Dan "DJ Shub" General, who left the band for personal reasons in spring 2014, and was replaced by Hill. Co-founder Ian "DJ NDN" Campeau left the band for health reasons in October 2017, with the band opting to remain a duo for the time being.

Bently Spang is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, writer, curator and an enrolled member of the Tsitsistas/Suhtai Nation in Montana. His work has been exhibited widely in North America, South America, and Europe.

Long Plain First Nation Annual Pow-wow began in 1876. It is one of Manitoba’s longest running pow-wow celebrations. The contest usually occurs during August long week-end from Friday evening to Sunday night. Long Plain First Nation (Ojibway) is a First Nation identified by AANDC as Indian Band No. 6. The community is located in the Central Plains region of Manitoba, to the southwest of Portage la Prairie along the Assiniboine River, and lies between the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie and the Rural Municipality of South Norfolk.

The Indian princess is usually a stereotypical and inaccurate representation of a Native American or other Indigenous woman of the Americas. The term "princess" was often mistakenly applied to the daughters of tribal chiefs or other community leaders by early American colonists who mistakenly believed that Indigenous people shared the European system of royalty. This inaccurate portrayal has continued in popular animation, with characters that conform to European standards of beauty, with the most famous misrepresentation being that of Pocahontas. Frequently, the "Indian Princess" stereotype is paired with the "Pocahontas theme" in which the princess "offers herself to a captive Christian knight, a prisoner of her father, and after rescuing him, she is converted to Christianity and lives with him in his native land." - a false narrative which misrepresents the events of Matoaka's life. The phrase "Indian princess", when used in this way, is often considered to be a derogatory term, a type of racial slur, and is deemed offensive by Native Americans.

Cris Derksen is a two-spirit Juno Award–nominated Cree cellist from Northern Alberta, Canada. Derksen is known for her unique musical sound which blends classical music with traditional Indigenous music. Her music is often described as "electronic cello" or classical traditional fusion.

Acosia Red Elk is a jingle dress dancer from the Umatilla people of Oregon. A descendant of Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, she did not become interested in dancing until she was 16, when she taught herself to dance from videos of other jingle dancers. Red Elk began dancing professionally in 1998 with her then-husband, Paris Leighton, visiting up to 50 pow wows a year for ten years.

Northern Cree, also known as the Northern Cree Singers, is a powwow and Round Dance drum and singing group based in Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada. Formed in 1980 by Randy Wood, with brothers Charlie and Earl Wood of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, members originate from the Treaty 6 area. These include Ferlin McGillvary, Steve Wood, Joel Wood, and Conan Yellowbird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Shub</span> Canadian musician

DJ Shub is a Mohawk DJ and music producer and member of the Six Nations of the Grand River. He has won numerous awards for his work as a former member of A Tribe Called Red, a DJ, and for solo pursuits.

Chuck Cadotte is an American powwow dancer and powwow dance-style teacher. As an enrolled member of the Dakota Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Chuck is dedicated to supporting Indians in connecting to their cultural roots through teaching traditional Native American dances through the Soaring Eagles dance group, giving traditional blessings and participating in rallies that support Native American land rights and sovereignty.

Benjamin Arkeketa, also called Thinga-Ja-Bus-Ka, was an American painter from the Oto-Missouria Tribe. He was a member of the "Che" Buffalo Clan, and his paternal great-great-grandfather was Chief George Arkeketa. Influenced by Brummett Echohawk and Acee Blue Eagle, Arkeketa was known for his paintings related to his tribal archaeology and ethnology as well as Christian philosophy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Miss Indian World". www.gatheringofnations.com. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  2. McKnight, Zoe (23 April 2016). "Miss Indian World contestants promote native culture | Toronto Star". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  3. "Report: Miss Indian World: The Original All-American Girl; Face Paint, Eagle Feathers, Deerskins, Drums and Dancing. Welcome to the World's Biggest Powwow Where 50,000 Native Americans Gather to Celebrate Their Heritage and Crown This Year's Queen", The Mirror, London, June 28, 2003, archived from the original on January 11, 2018
  4. "No swimsuit competition for Miss Indian World". america.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  5. 1 2 "Report: Miss Indian World: the original all-American girl; Face paint, eagle feathers, deerskins, drums and dancing... Welcome to the world's biggest powwow where 50,000 Native Americans gather to celebrate their heritage and crown this year's queen. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  6. O'Connell, Max B. "Oglala woman has eyes set on Miss Indian World crown". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  7. Olmstead, Donna. "Miss Indian World works to instill pride in Native American heritage". www.abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  8. "We Day 2014: Grown-Ups, You Missed Out!". 2 October 2014.
  9. "Miss Indian World".
  10. Sisk, Amy R. "Standing Rock woman to compete for Miss Indian World title". Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  11. Thursday, May 9, 2024 – Miss Indian World Kassie John.
  12. New Miss Indian World crowned: Taylor Susan of the White Mountain Apache/Walker River Paiute Tribes, Native News Online, April 28, 2018
  13. 2017-2018 Miss Indian World from http://www.gatheringofnations.com (accessed 12/01/2017)
  14. "American Press - Home". www.americanpress.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  15. rcjohnson (2014-04-28). "Taylor Thomas Crowned Miss Indian World". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  16. "A Chat with Miss Indian World, Kansas Begaye". PowWows.com - Native American Pow Wows. 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  17. "Jessa Rae Growing Thunder Crowned 2012 Miss Indian World". Indian Country News. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  18. babrams (2011-05-30). "Talking With Miss Indian World Marjorie Tahbone". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  19. "Mohawk, Former Miss Indian World, Gardener and Graduate: A Visit with Teyotsihstokwathe Dakota Brant". PowWows.com - Native American Pow Wows. 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  20. admin (2009-06-05). "Northern California Native wins first Miss Indian World title for tribe". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  21. Harris, Mike. "Gathering Of Nations Powwow Celebrates Native American Culture, Dance And Song - Western Travel Magazine | News | Rodeos | History | Towns | Old West | New West". oldwestnewwest.com. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  22. "Miss Indian World at 30 - Native Peoples - March-April 2014 - Native Peoples". www.nativepeoples.com. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  23. "LDS Church News - Miss Indian World is cultural ambassador". Church News . 9 June 2001. Retrieved 2016-11-05.