Sitting in front of you is a pile of wood and a match. Can you build a fire in five minutes with no help from lighter fluid?
Amy Begaye was able to not only build a fire completely on her own but also win Miss Navajo Nation Sept. 9.
Utah Tech University alumna and former Miss Native Utah Tech, Amy Begaye, was recently crowned Miss Navajo Nation. This title was earned after a week-long pageant against another contestant.
Miss Navajo Nation first started in 1952 as a way to represent Navajo culture, language and tradition. This week-long competition has multiple competition categories including:
- sheep butchering
- traditional cooking
- business interviews
- contemporary talent and skill
- traditional talent and skill
These competitions are used to test the contestants’ knowledge of culture and tradition; therefore, most of the categories are done with contestants speaking the Navajo language.
The contestants are given an hour to butcher the entire sheep, testing their skills and teachings on performance techniques like how they hold their knives. Along with starting their own fire, traditional cooking will see if they can then make a traditional cuisine from scratch.
On the other hand, the business interview is used to test their knowledge of the Navajo Nation government and issues occurring on the reservations.
“Miss Navajo Nation, she’s the ambassador for the whole Navajo Nation, [so] they want to know if she’s capable of answering these questions,” Amy Begaye said.
That then leaves the final portion of the competition: contemporary and traditional talents and skills. Amy Begaye played the ukulele as her contemporary talent, which is something she used to do with her old roommate from Utah Tech. She then used her nutritional background and degree in population health to showcase her contemporary skills, including research on the fundamental values of nutrition for pregnant women.
“One of the topics that I am really passionate about is gestational diabetes here on the Navajo Nation,” Amy Begaye said.
For her traditional talent, Amy Begaye created and described a Navajo tea found around her home that was used as an herbal medicine. Her traditional skill involved the cultural significance behind the Navajo hairbrush and its incorporation into ceremonial practices.
During this week, the contestants are also isolated with no contact with family members or technology until the coronation. Part of what prepared Amy Begaye for this pageant was her previous years as a college student.
Amy Begaye started her college journey at Utah State University Blanding. After her freshman year, she transferred to Dixie State University, now Utah Tech, after falling in love with the campus.
“I fell in love because, you know southern Utah, it’s not really too different from how my home looks, and it reminded me of home a lot,” Amy Begaye said.
Amy Begaye was a part of the Indigenous Student Organization while she was attending Utah Tech. ISO focuses on promoting native culture on campus.
Mike Nelson, director of the Center for Inclusion & Belonging, said, “Two big aspects of it [ISO] is for those students that are coming from reservations and tribes that are coming from more rural areas into Utah Tech, we want to be able to be a place or a home for them.”
ISO was a stepping stone for Amy Begaye to get back into pageants through Miss Native Dixie State, now Miss Native Utah Tech. She did pageants when she was in fourth and sixth grade but discontinued after that.
Amy Begaye ran her first year for Miss Native and ended up being second runner-up; however, the second year she ran, she won the title for 2019 Miss Native Dixie State. Toward the end of Amy Begaye’s term as Miss Native, she ran for Miss Western Navajo and won.
“I think also with being a student, especially being away from home and finding my place with the ISO, it helped me shape to become Miss Navajo Nation,” Amy Begaye said.
Amy Begaye said Nelson has been a mentor for her, even now after she has graduated. He is often the person that she goes to for any questions or letters of recommendation.
Amy Begaye’s two younger sisters, Ason Begaye and Ellyce Begaye, are also attending Utah Tech.
Ason Begaye, a sophomore mathematics education major from Tuba City, Arizona, said: “She definitely has always been that role model for me to look up to. She raised me when I was younger. She taught me how to live my traditions and my beliefs in harmony and respectfully.”
Amy Begaye then graduated from Utah Tech in 2022. She will be returning to Utah Tech Nov. 28 to judge the Miss Native Utah Tech competition.
Shortly after graduating from college, Amy Begaye started preparing for the Miss Navajo Nation competition.
Amy Begaye said: “My intention when I decided to run for Miss Navajo Nation wasn’t to be the winner but to be the best in all categories. I honestly saw it as a learning experience and a chance for me to know about myself, my culture, and of course, my language.”
While it might not have been her intention, Miss Navajo Nation has always been one of her goals in life. Amy Begaye has wanted to become Miss Navajo Nation since she was a kid, Ason Begaye said. The girls shared a room growing up, and on the walls, Amy Begaye had pictures of all of the previous Miss Navajo Nations.
“I asked her one night, ‘Why do you have these pictures, and why do you keep getting them?'” Ason Begaye said. “And she was like, ‘What if I run for it one day, I want to run for Miss Navajo.'”
While Ason Begaye was never interested in pageants, she was interviewed for her sister when the pageant was first starting. In this interview, she was asked many questions including why Amy Begaye wanted Miss Navajo Nation and her personality qualities.
“Amy is just one of those [people] that you can just look at her and realize that she’s just pure love and kind,” Ason Begaye said. “She’s willing to help whenever and wherever.”
Part of where Amy Begaye wants to help is on the Navajo reservation. She plans to get a master’s degree at Arizona State University to become a registered dietitian, working with the Navajo tribe and other tribes to better their nutrition.
Another big part of Amy Begaye’s future goals is to be a role model through her position as Miss Navajo Nation. She wants to be a role model across the Navajo Nation as well as other rural areas.
On top of that, Amy Begaye wants to be an inspiration for the students still in ISO. She said it’s important for those students to remember their values and why they decided to leave their homes. Furthermore, she is also thankful for the club and her time spent on campus.
“I would just like to thank Utah Tech for becoming my home, my second home, and always welcoming me whenever I come back,” Amy Begaye said.
