Miss Navajo helps tribe during pandemic

Host Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Deepa Shivaram, Weekend Edition Sunday (NPR.org, October 10, 2021); Xochitl, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

.

As Miss Navajo Nation, she helped her community through the pandemic

I want to be Miss Navajo! - Send in a bikini pic!

When Shaandiin Parrish was crowned "Miss Navajo Nation" in 2019, she didn't expect to win. She also didn't expect to be carrying the honor two years later and through the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Black, brown, and Indigenous communities at a deadlier rate through 2020.

Becoming Miss Navajo Nation: The Picture Show (National Public Radio, npr.org)

.

We're turning our backs on bikini contests.

When President of the Navajo Nation Jonathan Nez declared the pandemic a public health crisis in the tribe, Parrish's role as Miss Navajo Nation changed.

"Nobody really tells you how to be Miss Navajo in general, let alone how to be Miss Navajo Nation during the pandemic," Parrish told NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro.

There are many young Natives being assimilated

"We really took a hands-on approach, and I'm very fortunate the president included me in the conversations and also in the food distributions to be on the front lines with him," Parrish said.

They were so focused on the work, Parrish says, they lost track of time and organizing the pageant in 2020 was not a focus. She ended up staying Miss Navajo Nation for another year. More