On the Navajo Nation, there is a group coined “royalty” by their families and their communities. These young women dedicate themselves to the knowledge and preservation of their cultural identity through participation in beauty pageants.
These pageants require demonstration of traditional dress, language, and skills.
During pageant season—in school gymnasiums, in fairground tents, in old movie theaters—the Diné language flows like honey from the tongues of royals as their families watch with pride. Year-round, there are hours spent reciting syllables with mentors or grandmothers in community centers and living room floors. There are elective language courses and countless pans of burned fry bread, all in preparation for this—for fluent introductions, melodic cradle songs, and delicious fry bread, all received in celebration by their communities.
“I wasn’t traditional when I was small, but I learned about my culture and how to respect it,” said Taya Tom, the thirteen-year-old princess of the Black Creek Gourd Society