Miss Navajo (film)

Miss Navajo
Directed by	Billy Luther
Produced by	Billy Luther Duanna C. Butler (executive producer) Fenton Bailey Randy Barbato
Cinematography	Gavin Wynn
Edited by	Mike Rysavy Tracee Morrison
Music by	David Benjamin Steinberg
Distributed by	Independent Lens (U.S.)
Release date	2007
Running time	58 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English Navajo

Miss Navajo is a 2007 independent documentary film directed by Billy Luther. It tells the story of seven young girls, including a 21-year-old Navajo woman, Crystal Frazier, who decide to compete in a beauty pageant for the title of Miss Navajo for 2005-2006.

Summary

In the beginning of the film, Frazier believes it will be impossible to her to win the competition. However, she becomes more serious about her participation in the contest when she realizes that the pageant isn’t about stereotypical beauty standards, catering to superficial American values or making money, but about being a hardworking Navajo woman who wants to respectfully represent the culture and serve as a role model and spokesperson while preserving the language and tradition of the Navajo people.

Spanning five days, the Miss Navajo pageant consists of several competition categories that test contestants on their Navajo knowledge and skills.The requirements to enter the Miss Navajo pageant are the contestants must be over eighteen years old, be a high school graduate, answer various questions about Navajo government, history, and current issues, perform a modern-day and traditional skill or talent, speak the Navajo language, and participate in the sheep butchering and bread making.

Although Frazier does not win the competition, being Miss Navajo was about meeting other people and experiencing a role that encompasses responsibility, courage, and leadership.

External links

• Official Website
• Miss Navajo at IMDb
• Miss Navajo at AllMovie
• Miss Navajo - 32nd American Indian Film Festival