The competition is famous, and somewhat controversial, because contestants must butcher a sheep, cook it and explain the process in the Navajo language, all while wearing traditional dress — with aprons, of course.
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Yolanda Charley, the new 2008 Miss Navajo Nation, comes from a place she calls “the boonies,” where there is no running water or electricity, but she now represents one of the largest tribes in the country.
“I was excited; I couldn’t believe it,” said Charley, who is from Chi-Chil-Tah, N.M., a small community on the Navajo reservation. “I reached a goal that I was searching for since I was 8 years old.”
Charley was crowned 2008 Miss Navajo Nation Sept. 6 in Window Rock, Ariz.. In the competition, young Navajo women are judged on their language, traditional skills and talents and contemporary skills to become ambassadors for the tribe. She is the 57th Miss Navajo Nation since the pageant began in 1952.
For winning, the 20-year-old Charley receives a silver turquoise-studded crown, plus a banner she wears with her name on it. Winning is not easy. The competition is famous, and somewhat controversial because contestants must butcher a sheep, cook it and explain the process in the Navajo language, all while wearing traditional dress — with aprons, of course.
“My partner, she’s the one that cut off the sheep’s head,” Charley said. “We got to take turns.” Contestants, working in pairs, butchered two sheep.
The other three contestants were Lastasha Tom from Blue Canyon, Ariz.; Rikki Watchman from Ya-Tah-Hey, N.M. and Danielle Goldtooth, the runner-up, from Farmington, N.M.
Charley is no amateur when it comes to pageant-like competitions. She was Miss Chi-Chil-Tah in 2001, Tse-Ya-Toh Veterans Princess in 2005 and Miss Eastern Navajo in 2007 to 2008.
The Miss Navajo competition is a week long with a 45-minute, 18-question interview by former Miss Navajos to test the contestants’ traditional knowledge. Navajo elders judge contestants’ dance moves, attire and personal presentation. Charley presented corn grinding and dedicated a song to Navajo veterans for the traditional skill and talent events.
Aprons covered their dresses and they wore plastic over their moccasins as they took firm hold of their knives to separate skin from meat. They described the anatomy of the sheep in Navajo. Charley was named “best butcherer.”
“I cut the stomach open ... to take out all the insides,” Charley said. “We had to roll up the (small) intestines on the sheep fat.” The end product was the meal. The contestants cooked the rolls of intestines, called “ach’ii,” over an open fire and made frybread right after the butchering, Charley said.
“It’s overwhelming ... you toss and turn all night thinking, ‘oh, how am I going to do tomorrow?’” she said.
Miss Navajo is an ambassador for the Navajo people. Wherever she travels, she represents and is a voice for her people. She will give speeches and appearances throughout the United States.
“You don’t want to make any mistakes,” Charley said.
Miss Navajo contestants aren’t helped by their parents or relatives during the pageants. They have to dress themselves and make their own hair bun, according to the application. They have to be fluent in Navajo and English and have a high school diploma. Charley graduated from Gallup High in 2006 and has since been caring for her grandfather in Chi-Chil-Tah. She put college on hold because she didn’t want to leave him alone, she said.
Miss Navajos are chaperoned by members of the Office of Miss Navajo Nation at all times. “I enjoy working with young ladies,” said Dinah Wauneka, Program Director for the Office of Miss Navajo Nation.
The office works closely with the Navajo Nation president and council chambers and acts like Miss Navajo’s entourage, Wauneka said. They take care of numerous tasks from paperwork that might arise during Charley’s reign to helping her straighten her skirt or flipping her collar right side out.
“We travel with her, we’re her chaperones,” Wauneka said. “Whatever she is doing, we are helpful to her.”
The coronation is Wauneka’s favorite part of the pageant, she said. When former Miss Navajo, Jonathea Tso set the Miss Navajo crown on Charley’s head, Wauneka sighed, “it was beautiful.”
There is more information at the Miss Navajo Nation Web site and from the Miss Navajo Council, Inc.
Andi Murphy, Navajo, is a student at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. A graduate of the Freedom Forum’s 2007 American Indian Journalism Institute, Murphy interned as a reporter at The Daily Times in Farmington, N.M., and, last summer, at the Great Falls Tribune in Montana.
– reznetnews.org
This story originally was published by reznet and is used with permission.