Kalle Benallie
ICT
ALBUQUERQUE — Becoming Miss Indian World opens doors. You travel a lot, meet new people and have the chance to represent your tribe and Indigenous people.
This year, Dania Wahwasuck, Prairie Band Potawatomi, was crowned Miss Indian World 2025-2026 at the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She said the title isn’t about her but representing her people.
“I just want to make my Anishinaabe people proud. I just want to be a positive role model and I just want to be a scrub dancer that other younger scrub dancer girls can look up to. When they announced it, they first announced Prairie Band Potawatomi and that’s when I was like, that’s me,” the 24-year-old told ICT.
The pageant has been taking place for over 40 years at the Gathering of Nations, the self-proclaimed world’s largest Native American powwow.
Throughout the four-day competition, contestants accumulate points based on: public speaking, traditional talent, interview, essay and dance. Contestants must be of Indigenous descent, single, have no children, never have been married and between the ages of 18 and 25.
“The title of Miss Indian World is iconic and shall always be distinctly a part of the Gathering of Nations, Ltd.,” the Gathering of Nations directors said in a statement. “We thank Kassie John for fulfilling the role of Miss Indian World 2024-2025. We are proud of all 23 contestants and look forward to working with Dania Wahwasuck this year as she travels Indian Country representing all Native women and the Gathering of Nations organization.”
Wahwasuck also won awards for best dance and best essay. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and is currently working on her master’s in leadership diversity and inclusion with emphasis on Indigenous studies.
“My goal is to uplift and inspire our communities and especially our youth because I believe education is a tool that we can use to combat difficult issues surrounding our communities. I’m really excited to build connections and further build community and talk to all of our youth,” Wahwasuck said.
Dakota Brant, Miss Indian World 2010-2011, said she was 14 years old when she saw former Miss Indian World Tia Smith at a local fair. She admired Smith’s influence when she walked into the room with leaders going up to shake her hand. Smith held the crown in 2002-2003.
“I had never seen leadership care about youth and youth voice in the way they cared about hers in that moment,” Brant, Mohawk, said.
Brant added sometimes Miss Indian World brings people who have never met an Indigenous person together. She said it’s an opportunity to educate.
“It is very much a goodwill ambassadorship. It really is a title that bridges cultures,” she said.
Brant said after her reign she got her master’s in community planning. Today she works as an independent consultant for Indigenous community planning and co-owns a jewelry brand with her sister called Sapling & Flint.
Kansas Begaye, Diné, said serving as Miss Indian World 2013-2014 was a lifelong dream. She said it’s a role that empowers young Indigenous women and girls.
“It gives us a way to portray our culture and to be able to be involved with it. We are the mothers, the daughters, the sisters, the aunties to everyone during that time. It brings people together in such a harmonious and beautiful way. So I really love to inspire in that type of way,” Begaye said.
She said it’s also a chance to grow as a person.
“I always say, even the girls that don’t place or don’t exactly bring home the crown. A lot of them I’ve seen come into their own way of life after running for Miss Indian world, it kind of opens up their eyes, I feel,” Begaye said.
Now Begaye is an inspirational speaker and Native American recording artist. Two years after her reign she was an ambassador from the United States consulate and traveled to Russia where sheI sang at a festival in Yakutsk, Russia.
The most recent Miss Indian World Kassie John, Diné, said it’s been a whirlwind of a year with teachings she is going to take with her moving forward.
“The biggest lesson that I learned this year was just the beauty, the resiliency, the hope that we have as Native people. I’m really thankful that people were willing to teach me and willing to share their cultures, their traditions, and things that make them feel good, that joy,” John said.
During her reign John worked full-time at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and she plans to continue that work.
“I’m really excited to really hone in back into the work I do in public health to advance our tribal communities here in a state alongside all of our tribal tribal communities of the surrounding states here in the western part of the United States,” she said. “It’s one of the things that I really enjoyed designing and creating public health campaigns and really centering it on population health with our Native people, especially because we have different ways of how we see wellness and how we maintain our wellbeing.”
John is also looking to attend grad school and going on the powwow trail in the summer.
Her advice to Wahwasuck is to take time for herself, practice the things that bring her joy, be proud of who she is, and revel in the moment.
“I really wish her the best as she embarks on an incredible year, and I know for me and my family we pray for her safe travels and we are so excited to see her down the powwow trail,” John said. “To be Miss Indian World, that’s something that all of us all Indigenous women carry within themselves because it’s a hard job to be an Indigenous woman.”
She said it’s possible another little girl, like herself, would have been in awe watching the new Miss Indian World.
“Hopefully who knows one of those little girls that was sitting at the crowning this year, who was inspired by Dania, is going to be our next Miss Indian World in the next few years so I’m excited,” John said.
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