Angela Noah sat in a Native American Lane County Head Start classroom. She wore her Miss Indigenous UO crown and green sash as she served the students fry bread, helped teach them drum songs and crafted jewelry together. A little girl sat beside Noah as she beaded a necklace. Mesmerized by Noah’s crown, the girl asked if she knew Snow White. “Yeah, that’s homegirl,” Noah responded. To that little girl, Noah was a real princess.
Noah, a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe and Oklahoma Choctaw Nation, served as Miss Indigenous UO for the last three years. Through the position, she helped preserve, showcase and celebrate indigenous traditions. Her favorite part of the job was being a form of positive representation to many, including the little girl in Lane County’s Head Start classroom.
During the 55th Annual Mother’s Day Pow Wow, Noah said goodbye to her crown as Keyen Singer, a UO freshman, was named the new Miss Indigenous UO. Handing off the Miss Indigenous UO crown during the Mother’s Day Pow Wow has been a tradition for the last for years. Singer, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, has been working to save the salmon in the Snake River since seventh grade. Her petition now sits at about 25,000 signatures.
“A lot of my work right now is working for the salmon,” she said “We are coming together to bring back our fish, to bring back our future, and our culture.”
As Miss Indigenous UO Singer hopes to continue her work for the salmon but also advocate for Native youth. Luckily, she will have support and help as she works to represent her community. During Noah’s term as Miss Indigenous UO, she worked to expand her position to allow male and two spirited individuals to participate. Two new positions were added: Mr. Indigenous UO and Indigenous UO Cultural Ambassador.
Marcus Esquibel, a freshman at UO and member of the San Felipe and Jemez Pueblos tribes, was named as the Indigenous UO Cultural Ambassador. Before attending UO, he advocated for gender neutral bathrooms at his prior high school. He hopes to continue this work and advocacy for the LGBTQIA2S+ community this year.
On May 8, a cultural showcase where contestants shared their identity, talents and hopes took place in Global Scholars Hall. Esquibel shared with the judges homemade fry bread, an important food in indigenous cultures. Esquibel wanted to show the judges that cooking is something anyone can do.
“Back in my home communities, baking/cooking is not what a boy is supposed to do,” Esquibel said. “I just wanted to change the gender norms in indigenous communities.”
Along with Esquibel and Singer, Yazzie Chee, a Navajo tribe member, will serve as Mr. Indigenous UO. Chee spent the majority of his upbringing in white dominated communities. He said it wasn’t until 2019 that he began reconnecting to his identity and culture. His reconnection journey was driven by Lori Tapahonso, the Native American student coordinator at Lane Community College. As Mr. Indigenous UO, he hopes to help other community members who are currently going through their own reconnection journey.
“There’s tons of people that are in the process of reconnecting and are constantly asking themselves if they’re indigenous enough,” Chee said. “My biggest goal is to reach out to those people and connect with them and give them resources.”
Noah said she feels confidence and pride in Chee, Esquibel and Singer for the year ahead.
“You are not ready for what this next cohort is going to do,” Noah said. “It’s going to be an exciting year.”
