ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When Codi High Elk was a reserved teenager who preferred tending to horses on her family’s Cheyenne River Reservation ranch, she discarded an application for a groundbreaking Indigenous women’s competition. Her brother retrieved it from the garbage, setting her on course to become the inaugural Miss Indian World in 1984.
High Elk recalls being the quietest among her seven siblings, dreading the public speaking requirements of the contest. However, the competition that turned a timid teenager into a cultural ambassador is now concluding after more than 40 years.
“From the day I got my crown, my life changed,” said High Elk, who credits her time as Miss Indian World with giving her the confidence to pursue two degrees and a career expanding credit access for Lakota people. “I want that same opportunity for my granddaughters.”
For over four decades, the competition has served as the premier attraction at the Gathering of Nations, which promotes itself as North America’s largest powwow. The contest has influenced countless young women from throughout the United States and Canada who sought to share their heritage and compete for the coveted title and its elaborate, hand-beaded crown.
However, 2025 will mark the final year for both the powwow and pageant. Event organizers announced the decision to conclude these gatherings but provided no additional explanation.
The competition’s collection of ornate beaded crowns will be permanently retired when the two-day celebration ends Saturday.
Dania Wahwasuck, representing the Prairie Band Potawatomi and Pyramid Lake Paiute tribes, claimed her title amid enthusiastic crowd support last year. Her soft-colored crown and sash displaying star quilt patterns, along with another set adorned with rhinestones and pink tones, will join those being retired Saturday.
The competition welcomed Indigenous women between 18 and 25 years old. Participants were required to be unmarried, childless, and commit to upholding certain ethical standards.
Participants described a demanding five-day experience involving interviews, public presentations, and an eagerly awaited traditional talent demonstration.
Tori McConnell, the 2023 winner, consulted with Karuk and Yurok tribal elders while preparing her presentation. She demonstrated traditional basket weaving, first explaining in Karuk, then English, how she crafted baskets using materials collected from her ancestral lands in northwestern California.
“To have our art recognized on that level was so validating,” McConnell said. “Not just for me but for my community.”
The Miss Indian World crown has journeyed globally, appearing at a Māori Haka competition in New Zealand, Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park in Japan, and the Oceti Sakowin camp during the height of Standing Rock pipeline protests.
During summer 1984, High Elk remembers searching a Paris market for ingredients to prepare fry bread and Lakota tripe soup for university students who had invited her to France.
“You become an ambassador not just for your own culture but for all Indigenous peoples,” said Shayai Lucero, who was crowned Miss Indian World in 1997.
Lucero, from Acoma and Laguna pueblos in New Mexico, wasn’t raised in powwow traditions. At the 1997 Stanford University Powwow, she found acceptance among pueblo community members who had lived in the Bay Area for decades through a federal relocation program that moved Native Americans from reservations to urban areas.
“All these people showed up who knew my family, knew our language and traditions,” said Lucero. “Suddenly, I felt at home.”
Throughout their reigns, winners have championed various causes from Indigenous language preservation to domestic violence awareness.
Cheyenne Kippenberger, the 2019 Miss Indian World, concentrated on mental health issues as COVID-19 forced the cancellation of ceremonies, cultural activities, and community events. As the only titleholder to serve two years, she organized virtual events and promoted vaccination among Native communities.
“I remember thinking, everybody’s feeling really lonely and confined. We need to find a way to connect people,” said Kippenberger, a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Florida.
No arrangements exist for continuing the Miss Indian World pageant, according to organizers. Gathering of Nations, Ltd., the nonprofit managing both the powwow and competition, holds the trademark for the title.
Throughout its history, Gathering of Nations has faced criticism for being excessively commercialized. Founder Derek Mathews, who has sometimes claimed distant Cherokee heritage but lacks tribal citizenship, has rarely responded publicly to such criticism.
Melonie Matthews, Derek’s daughter who has Santa Clara Pueblo ancestry through her mother, stated the organization never considered transferring the Miss Indian World trademark to another group.
“The Miss Indian World pageant goes hand in hand with the powwow. It was never a stand-alone event,” she said in an emailed statement.
Nevertheless, several former winners are investigating the possibility of establishing a new national competition for Indigenous women.
“A lot of us were saying ‘Miss Indian World is bigger than one powwow,’” Lucero said. “We don’t need the powwow to continue her legacy.”
While numerous tribal nations and powwows select their own royalty, young women aspiring to represent their communities on a national, Native-centered pageant platform will lack this opportunity. Miss Native American USA concluded five years ago with its final winner. The Miss Indian Nations and Miss Indian America competitions have also ended.
Former Miss Indian World winners who became attorneys, educators, business owners, cultural preservationists, and lifelong friends say the crown empowered their leadership abilities.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” said Kippenberger, who now operates a tribal consulting business. “But I feel full confidence and optimism that something positive will fill in the gap.”
