New Miss Indian World hails from Gallup

Larry Di Giovanni
Diné Bureau

GALLUP — The newly crowned Miss Indian World 2003-04 is Onawa Lynn Lacy of Gallup, a 20-year-old English-prelaw major at the University of New Mexico's main campus in Albuquerque who eventually wants to practice law for the Navajo Nation.

Lacy, who is also learning Navajo with the help of her mom, Rena, and grandma and by taking Navajo language courses at UNM wants to run for the title of Miss Navajo Nation in a few years.

A 2000 graduate of Gallup High School, Lacy was crowned Saturday night inside Albuquerque's UNM"Pit" near the closing of the Gathering of Nations pow wow. It is the largest American Indian celebration held in the United States.

Lacy bested 33 other Miss Indian World contestants from Canada and the United States to win the crown. Included in the group were five other Navajo contestants. A seventh Navajo contestant had dropped out before the competition. Bestowing the crown on Lacy was Miss Indian World 2002-03 Tia Smith, a member of the Six Tribes of Ontario, Canada.

In the days leading up to the pageant and during the two-day Gathering of Nations, Miss Indian World competitors were judged on an essay, public speaking-personal interview, traditional talent and the dance competition. Since some contestants are not from pow wow oriented tribes, each young woman could choose a pow wow style dance or a traditional dance of their people. Lacy, who stands 5 feet 10 inches, performed the Navajo ribbon dance.

"I knew I had done well in all of the competitions," Lacy said Monday. "But because of how ambitious and talented all of the girls were, I kind of expected anything." She didn't win any of the individual awards but Lacy said she "did well in every category."

An athlete at Gallup High School who played volleyball, basketball and tennis, Lacy has performed well in pageants before. She was Miss Indian New Mexico two years ago.

Lacy is the daughter of Rodney and Rena Lacy of Gallup. Her mother is of the "mud people" and she is"born for" the "bilagaanas," a reference to her father's clan. Lacy's mother is Navajo and her father Anglo. Her home chapter is Church Rock.

Lacy's father is a coal miner for the Tiess Construction Co. and will soon be returning home after working the past year-and-a-half in Indonesia.

"In fact, he called just in time (to congratulate Onawa)," Rena Lacy said. "She was in the press room being interviewed."

Lacy has about two years to go to finish her bachelor's degree. From there, she plans to apply to UNM's law school. She will turn 21 on June 10, about the time that she will embark on the use of one of her top prizes for winning Miss Indian World: an all expenses-paid Disney cruise or trip to Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Lacy must wait a year upon relinquishing her title before she can vie for another crown such as Miss Navajo Nation, which is one of her goals. By then, her mastery of her native language should be at a high level, and she will be more prepared for a major component to be graded on then: sheep butchering.

There have been efforts to take sheep butchering out of the Miss Navajo Nation competition in recent years. Lacy would have none of that.

"That part of the competition is what it truly means to be a Navajo woman," she said. Navajo women often have to provide from the bounty of their livestock and crops in addition to taking care of children and the elderly within their families. "There are so many skills behind being a Navajo woman, and that (sheep butchering) is one of them."

Lacy said learning her native language is a "battle." It is based heavily on tones and inflections, and one mispronounced word can mean something else entirely.

"You have to be very careful speaking our language," she said, acknowledging that the language barrier between young and old Navajos is one of the main reasons the tribe is in its current state of transition.

Lacy has two siblings: older brother Rodney Jr. and 7-year-old sister Sheyenne. Her sister-in-law, Valerie, helped Onawa prepare for world-class competition.