Miss Shinnecock Pageant returns to the reservation

When she was crowned Miss Teen Shinnecock in 1996—the last year the pageant was held—16-year-old Nishwe Williams got a boost of self-esteem and a dose of pride in her Native American heritage that still resonates with her.

The experience meant so much to her that now, after a 13-year hiatus, Ms. Williams is bringing the tradition back to the reservation and resurrecting the Miss Teen Shinnecock Pageant so that today’s Shinnecock youth have the same opportunity she did. Ms. Williams, now the mother of three, is raising funds and spreading the word about the pageant’s return, scheduled on Saturday, June 13, at the tribe’s community center on the reservation.

“Winning made me proud of who I was. It made me not be afraid to say with pride that I was a Native American, that I was a Shinnecock,” Ms. Williams said while recalling what it was like to take part in the Fourth of July parade and lead the Grand Entry in the annual Shinnecock Powwow as the reigning Miss Teen Shinnecock. “I want other girls to experience that same feeling.”

Participation in the pageant will help girls develop qualities for success, Ms. Williams said, including a sense of tradition, leadership, social conscience, and self-assurance. Unlike prior pageants, this year’s event will be broken down into two categories: the teen category, for girls in grades nine through 12, and the junior teen category, for girls in grades six through eight. Ms. Williams said she established the teen and junior teen categories to give more girls the chance to compete.

Fourteen girls from the reservation will be competing in this year’s pageant, Ms. Williams said, and “they will learn a lot about traditional values.”

Contestants will be judged on etiquette, knowledge of Native American and Shinnecock history, Native and ballroom dance, regalia, casual wear, sportswear, evening wear and talent. For the talent phase, the girls will perform a non-Native talent and a Native one, such as a song, poem or dance, something Ms. Williams said she added to the competition to enhance the theme of appreciation for the Shinnecock and Native American heritage.

Ms. Williams said she has been wanting to bring the event back to the reservation for some time. “Now that my children are a little older I could finally do it,” she said. “It just takes one person to get the ball rolling.”

Ms. Williams said most everyone on the reservation is enthusiastic about the pageant. “Everybody is helping out,” she said.

A panel of Shinnecock leaders, representatives from other tribes and local political figures will judge the event. Ms. Williams said she is looking for five to seven judges and plans to reach out to U.S. Representative Tim Bishop and Southampton Town officials as potential judges. Ms. Williams said the judges will be announced on the day of the pageant.

Crowned winners, along with second and first runners-up, will represent the Shinnecock Indian Nation at powwows and conferences across the United States. Ms. Williams said she also hopes to enter the winners in the 2010 Miss Indian World Pageant, which takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. East End Alternative Counseling in Southampton has agreed to pay the travel expenses to the national pageant for the Miss Teen Shinnecock champs, Ms. Williams said.

A representative from Mary Kay Cosmetics is providing make-up lessons for the girls, Ms. Williams said, and has agreed to donate make-up for the contestants the night of the pageant.

Ms. Williams said she is seeking volunteers, sponsors and donations to cover the cost of the event, which is about $2,000. So far, Ms. Williams said she has raised about half that amount. Most of that money, according to Ms. Williams, will go toward buying the winners’ beaded crowns, which cost $600 each.

To help raise the remaining funds, the pageant committee will hold an “indoor flea market and bake sale” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, and Saturday, May 23, at the Shinnecock Community Center located on the reservation in Southampton. Vendors wishing to participate in the flea market may do so by purchasing a table for $20.