Pageant News Bureau - American Indians II

Miss NCAI 2003 Court (left to right): Maurisa Red Deer Two Two, Best Talent (Tohono O'odham Nation), Barbara Lynn Abrams, Miss NCAI Runner-Up (Seneca Nation), Cheryl V. Dixon, Miss NCAI 2003-2004 (Pueblo of Isleta); Tiffany Dawn Stuart, Miss Congeniality (Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon).

The Miss National Congress of American Indians 2003 Pageant

Photo courtesy of Alyssa Burhans

The indigenous tribes of the Americas are true nations. Many are small and little-known even in their own countries. But their languages and traditions are rich and unique. They need to be preserved, and indeed honored.

The National Congress of American Indians has done much toward this end. Each year at the group's annual convention, the Miss National Congress of American Indians Pageant is held.

In late 2003, Cheryl Dixon of Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico, became the latest torchbearer of these traditions. The sophomore at the University of New Mexico -- who is majoring in biology and English in pursuit of a pre-medicine degree -- was crowned Miss NCAI 2003-2004.

Barbara Lynn Abrams of the Seneca Nation in New York was the runner-up. She is currently a student at United Tribes Technical College in North Dakota majoring in Tribal Management. The Best Talent award went to Maurisa Red Deer Two Two of the Tohono O'odham Nation, for her performance of a traditional Tohono O'odham song. Tiffany Dawn Stuart, of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in Oregon, was awarded the Miss Congeniality Award from her peers.

Ms. Dixon will carry her message of "sustaining education in American Indian communities" throughout the nation.

This is a unique event in the pageant world. It is the ultimate American pageant, and every American ought to take pride in it.