Photograph from the Miss Indian Nations Facebook Page of the United Tribes Technical College

Is the Miss Indian Nations Pageant simply a beauty contest for Native American young women? Though the title may sound that way, the pageant is not about bathing suits, body size, or achieving a "perfect smile"--not by all the miles around Turtle Island!

The United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota has hosted the Miss Indian Nations Pageant for the past twenty-one years and is strongly linked to the United Tribes' annual International Pow-Wow. Women contestants must be tribally enrolled and between the ages of 18 and 26. A presentation of their cultural practices is part of the competition.

The primary intent of the Pageant is to foster and spotlight young Indigenous women leaders who have a strong tie to their traditional cultures. The young women are required to wear traditional clothing (called regalia) that depicts the values, history, and culture of their nation or nations. There is no such thing as "Native American" regalia; remember that the term "Native American" is a general, blanket term used to describe Indigenous peoples from the United States, just like the word "European" is a general term that describes people from Europe who may be French, Turkish, or Greek.  Indigenous peoples come from specific nations (like Shoshone, Creek, Bannock, Apache, etc) and their clothing is from those specific nations, not just "buckskin and feathers"--this is the generic, old-time Hollywood image of Indigenous peoples that are really just stereotypes. What a Greek person wore centuries ago looks quite different from what a Spaniard wore--same with the Native nations. What is traditional regalia to a Cherokee person looks quite different from the traditional regalia of a Blackfoot person.

Take another look at the photograph above. What the young women are wearing may, at first glance, just look like general, decorative beadwork and animal skins that do not denote any specific cultural meaning. This could not be farther from the truth. Each piece of beadwork has meaning that is specific to the woman's Native nation--maybe from their creation story, from her specific clan, or an image from an important traditional story. The beadwork has a long, ancient history and connection--it may perhaps be her or her grandmother's personal design and craftwork, but it will definitely have a very profound meaning that connects with her people. One purpose of the beadwork, dress style, and items in her hair is to denote her nation. When Native on-lookers at a pow-wow watch the dancers in regalia, they can identify their various nations from their beadwork, feather work, headdresses, and especially moccasins--but that's a whole blog post in and of itself! The beadwork itself is like a calling-card telling everyone who they are--and "who they are" is their people, their nation.

For example, the elk ivory teeth stitched onto the cape of Alexandria Alvarez in the photograph below comes from the honoring of the Elk and the traditional Elk stories of her nation--she just didn't stitch them there because she thought it would be a cool design! Indeed, the beautiful design she wears is the continuation of an historic design from the women of her, and other Plains, nations. Images of this exact design can be seen in photographs of Shoshone women from the 1800s and also on the dresses of Plains women at pow-wows this summer. The important message behind these designs is the amazing continuation of their people despite colonization--how awesome!

Alexandria Alvarez (Shoshone-Bannock) Miss Indian Nations 2013

The winner of the Miss Indian Nations pageant receives a scholarship to earn a college education and becomes an international ambassador from Indian Country. Ms. Alvarez writes about her experience as Miss Indian Nations on the Pageant's webpage: "I have traveled to 9 countries, mostly from Europe, and I have discovered that many people around the world still have tremendous misperceptions about American Indians; but with knowledge and leadership, I have been able to teach people a few things about my culture, and that the Indigenous people of North America are still here."

The brochure for the Pageant states that the "Program strives to find ways [for the young women to] deliver their message of hope. Miss Indian Nations will serve as an Ambassador, and work alongside people from Indian Country and other diverse cultures for the betterment of all tribal nations." Hope and leadership are two powerful commodities in Indigenous communities in the Americas, and reaching Native youth (who have the youngest and highest suicide rates of any other demographic in the United States) is urgent. But with the strength of cultural continuance and ancient traditions behind the many hundreds of Native communities in the U.S., the serious challenges facing Native youth are being addressed by the People with love and strong belief in a promising future!

For more information see:

Miss Indian Nations Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/missindiannations