Keeping the resilience: 40 years of the crown and sash
By: Turning Points
The Miss and Mr. Indian ASU Royalty Court has served as goodwill ambassadors of the University’s American Indian, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian community since 1979, when Joleen White (Quechan) was crowned as the first Miss Indian ASU.
This year, the Spring 2019 pageant celebrated its 40th anniversary at Neeb Hall on the Tempe campus with the theme “Keeping the Resilience.” This year’s host was former Miss Indian ASU ’96 April Tinhorn (Diné/Hualapai/Chinese), who said the anniversary signifies the university’s long-standing Indigenous student presence.
“(The 40th year signifies) that we come from a legacy,” Tinhorn said. “We have a history of Native scholars who may not have worn the sash, but have infiltrated and gone beyond that… We are four decades strong in being at ASU.”
Experienced in Native pageantries, Tinhorn shared why this particular pageant is more than a title.
“First and foremost, every contestant is a scholar and that’s not the case for mainstream pageants,” Tinhorn said. “These titles are really meant to be representative of the entire student body. To even run, you have to be a Native scholar in good standing. I see a lot of the formers making an impact in Indian Country.”
Seven student contestants vied for the titles in this year’s pageant, including Terri Surveyor (Hopi/Diné/Arapaho/Cheyenne), Catalina Flores (Pascua Yaqui) and Ethan Tsosie (Diné). Representing the 2019–2020 MMIASU Royalty Court are first attendants Savannah Nelson (Diné) and Gabe Garcia (Tohono O’odham), Miss Indian ASU Tashoni Morales (Tachi-Yokut/Te-Moak W. Shoshone), and Mr. Indian ASU Lance Sanchez (Tohono O’odham).
Tinhorn also shared that advocacy was also a common thread in each contestant’s platform.
“The overwhelming impression I got from all of the candidates was, ‘Dang, they’re all woke!’ They’re not just amazing public speakers, they’re aware of the issues that are going on. They’re changing things on campus… Even though we’re a small percentage, the current students are really speaking up and creating change of inclusion,” she said.
