Miss Navajo Nation pageant focuses on traditional foods instead of fry bread

Tuesday, September 5, 2017  

The Navajo Nation Fair is underway in Arizona and one of the biggest draws is the Miss Navajo Nation pageant.

But there's a big change for this year's competition, The Navajo Times reported. Contestants are no longer required to make fry bread and will instead focus on traditional foods that sustained the tribe for generations.

“We need to educate our people to utilize plants as food that are tied to our land, culture and beliefs,” Ronda Joe, the outgoing title holder told The Associated Press, which said foods like blue corn mush are on the menu this year.

The fair began on Monday and runs through Sunday. It's being held in Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation.

Read More on the Story:
What? No fry bread contest at Miss Navajo pageant (The Navajo Times August 30, 2017)
Miss Navajo Nation contest is parting ways with fry bread (The Associated Press September 5, 2017)