Miss Indian World Pageant to Conclude with Final Crowning in 2025 as Gathering of Nations Powwow Ends
Introduction
The Miss Indian World pageant, a key part of the Gathering of Nations powwow for over 40 years, will hold its final competition in 2025. Organizers have announced that they will stop both the powwow and the pageant, saying that the time has come for the events to end. They did not give any further explanation.
Main Body
The pageant began in 1984 when Codi High Elk, a shy teenager from the Cheyenne River Reservation, first threw away the application but was encouraged by her brother to enter. High Elk became the first Miss Indian World. She later stated that the experience gave her the confidence to earn two degrees and build a career focused on improving credit access for Lakota people. The competition has taken place every year at the Gathering of Nations, which calls itself the largest powwow in North America, and it has influenced the lives of young Indigenous women from the United States and Canada. Contestants had to be Indigenous women aged 18 to 25, single, without children, and they promised to follow certain moral standards. The selection process included a five-day schedule of interviews, public speaking, and a traditional talent showcase. For example, Tori McConnell, the 2023 winner, consulted Karuk and Yurok elders to create a performance showing traditional basketry. She first explained it in the Karuk language and then in English. According to Melonie Matthews, daughter of the Gathering of Nations founder, the pageant’s collection of beaded crowns, which changed each year, will be retired after the final event and possibly donated to a museum. Winners served as cultural ambassadors, traveling internationally to events such as a Māori Haka competition in New Zealand, the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, and the Oceti Sakowin camp during the Standing Rock pipeline protests. High Elk recalled preparing fry bread and Lakota tripe soup for university students in Paris in 1984. Shayai Lucero, the 1997 winner from Acoma and Laguna pueblos, noted that the pageant gave a sense of belonging to Indigenous people who had been moved away by federal relocation programs. Titleholders supported causes including language revitalization, domestic violence prevention, and mental health support. Cheyenne Kippenberger, the 2019 winner, focused on connecting Native communities during the COVID-19 pandemic through online events and encouraging vaccinations. The Gathering of Nations has faced criticism for being too commercial. Its founder, Derek Mathews, who has sometimes claimed some Cherokee ancestry but is not a tribal citizen, has made few public responses. Melonie Matthews stated that the organization did not consider giving the Miss Indian World trademark to another group, because the pageant was never a separate event. However, several former titleholders have been considering creating a new national pageant for Indigenous women. They argue that the legacy of Miss Indian World goes beyond the powwow. Other national pageants, such as Miss Native American USA, Miss Indian Nations, and Miss Indian America, have already stopped. Many past winners have become lawyers, teachers, business owners, and cultural leaders. They feel bittersweet but are optimistic that a new event will appear.
Conclusion
The end of the Miss Indian World pageant marks the loss of an important platform for Indigenous women's representation and cultural ambassadorship. While the current organizers have no plans to continue the event, former titleholders are actively considering alternatives to fill the gap.