Queen contestants dazzle

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Ten young women introduced themselves as Ceremonial Queen contestants to a packed luncheon crowd on Wednesday.

The women, representatives of the Navajo, Pima, Maricopa, Turtle Mountain Ojibwa, Rosebud Sioux, Gila River Akimel O'odham, Pee-posh, and Eastern Cocopah tribes, are all vying for the title of Miss Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial 2005-2006.

Josette Martinez of the Akimel O'odham and Choctaw tribes is the reigning Ceremonial Queen.

The women will compete in modern and traditional talent competitions over the next two days. On Saturday one of them will be crowned the new Miss Ceremonial just prior to the 8 p.m. Indian dance performance.

The following is a list of the contestants, in the order they were introduced.

• Emerald S. Dahozy, 19, is a member of the Navajo tribe and is from the Window Rock and Fort Defiance, Ariz. communities. The daughter of Sadie Yazzie and Rodger Dahozy, she is currently a student at Colorado Christian University, where she is majoring in communications and minoring in music production. She is looking forward to a career as a radio personality.
  
  
• Melissa Ray, 25, is from Mesa, Ariz. and is part Pima, Maricopa, and Navajo. Her parents are Lorna and Russell Ray. She currently works as a caregiver and studies art at Scottsdale Community College. Ray would like to work promoting cultural arts with youth. She was Miss Salt River 1998-1999 and Miss Indian Phoenix 1999-2000.
  
  
• Rayma Lynn Adakai, 21, a resident of Albuquerque, N.M., is Navajo, Turtle Mountain Ojibwa, and Rosebud Sioux. Her mother and step-father are Cookie Adakai Sanchez and Michael Sanchez, and her father is Raymond Wright Sr. Adakai currently works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and attends New Mexico Highlands University, where she studies business and accounting. She would eventually like to build her own business. Adakai was Miss Indian New Mexico 2002-2003.
  
  
• Melissa Yazzie, 22, is a member of the Navajo tribe from Twin Lakes, N.M. She is the daughter of Roberta Joe and the granddaughter of John K. Yazzie Sr. She currently works in the field of home health care and attends UNM-Gallup, where she is has a double major in human services and the tribal court advocate program. She would like to eventually serve as Chief Justice of the Navajo Nation. Yazzie was the second runner-up to Miss Indian New Mexico 2003-2004 and runner-up to Miss Indian World 2005.
  
  
• Cheryl Miranda Thomas, 21, from Komatke, Ariz. is of Gila River Akimel O'odham, Pee-posh, and Eastern Cocopah descent. She is the daughter of Karen Helene and Bentley Jay Thomas. A student of adolescent psychology at Central Arizona College, Thomas would eventually like to direct the psychology department of the Gila River Health Care Center. She was Miss Gila River 2004-2005 and the first attendant to Miss Indian Arizona 2004-2005.
  
  
• Tinisha Smith, 19, from Sundance, N.M. is a member of the Navajo tribe. The daughter of Madeline and Edward Smith, she is a receptionist for Arviso Construction Company. Smith is also a student at TVI in Albuquerque, where she is studying to be a pediatric nurse. Once she earns her nursing degree, Smith would like to return to the reservation to work with Navajo people.
  
  
• Rethania Jake, 24, a member of the Navajo tribe, is from Crownpoint, N.M. She is the daughter of Rosanda Freeland and Roy Jake. She is studying elementary education at Haskell Indian Nation University in Kansas and plans to become a teacher. She was first runner-up for the Miss Eastern Navajo 2005-2006 title.
  
  
• Tanya Thompson, 19, the daughter of Joanne and Leroy Thompson, is from Thoreau, N.M. A member of the Navajo tribe, Thompson impressed Wednesday's crowd with her traditional Navajo blouse and gathered skirt that were sewn out of camouflage fabric in honor of United States servicemen and women. The former 2003-2004 Miss Native American Thoreau High School is planning to join the U.S. Marine Corp.
  
  
• Natasha Kaye Johnson, 22, from Twin Lakes, N.M. is a member of the Navajo tribe. The daughter of Jennifer Johnson and the granddaughter of Shirley Davis, Johnson recently graduated from the University of Arizona, where she earned a bachelor's degree in behavioral health and minored in preventative health and American Indian Studies. Currently a reporter for the Gallup Herald, Johnson plans to earn a master's degree and work with native people in the field of diabetes prevention.
  
  
• Shannon Hood, 25, a member of the Navajo tribe from Toh'la'kai, N.M., is the daughter of Marilyn Help-Hood. She works for the UNM Service Corps, the New Mexico Civic Engagement Program, and the Albuqueque Public Schools. A graduate of UNM with a bachelor's of science degree in biology and a minor in Navajo language, Hood plans to work in family medicine as a pediatrician.