Miss Central Navajo Rodeo Association Queen shines bright

By Donovan Quintero
Special to the Times

DÍWÓZHII BIIʼ TÓ, Ariz. — When recent monsoon rains blessed her front yard, Shaa’tohi Henio, whose Navajo name means “a sun ray beaming light of a body of water,” went outside to feed her horses.

She stood in it and let each drop fall on her, she remembered. Rain, after all, where she calls home, comes hard or rarely comes.

“I got my sister’s Crocs and went outside to go feed the horses,” said Henio. “But I kind of just, like, now and then, when I get the chance, I just let it rain. I just, like, stand outside, just let it rain on me. It’s pretty a good feeling.”

Henio was crowned the 2024-25 Miss Central Navajo Rodeo Association Queen on August 4. The 16-year-old said she’s already been shining a light on the importance of rodeo culture and community values, as well as education, as the new representative of the CNRA.

“Rodeo and education are practically the same: you have to have discipline, determination, and dedication just to follow those three things and those two things and to get by in school or rodeo with desire, you would have to have, like the willingness to do it, and having the winning attitude,” she said.

This past weekend, at the 38th Annual Central Navajo Fair, she said participated in the parade and was met with excitement. Particularly, the elderly complimented her long hair, she said.

“The elders mostly complimented my hair. They were just like, ‘I like your hair. Keep it, let it keep growing,’” she said. “It was more of like a happy feeling because I didn’t think a lot of people would be happy for me. It was a nice feeling to see all those people all proud of me.”

Spending time with horses, queen ambassador

Before winning Miss CNRA, Henio has been competing. In 2022, she competed in the 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Junior finals and took sixth place in the junior girl’s barrel racing.

That same year, her role model, Sharaya Edgewater, her older cousin sister, won the 2022-23 Miss Indian National Finals Rodeo, whom she said she aspired to follow in her footsteps. Like her, Henio likes to spend time with her horses. Edgewater was featured in a 2022 Navajo Times story in which she spoke of spending time with her horses.

Inspiringly, Henio aims to follow in the footsteps of Sharaya, who has influenced her greatly. She has her sights set on pursuing higher education at the University of New Mexico, where she hopes to study medicine and ultimately become a cardiologist. This year, she anticipates having an exceptionally busy year. She jokingly said she couldn’t wait to miss school while attending functions to represent CNRA as its queen ambassador. Sharmayne was the 2006-07 Miss Indian National Finals Rodeo.

Success starts early, staying busy

Her mother Sharmayne Henio, who is also a former rodeo title holder, said Shaa’tohi begins her day early. It especially becomes even more hectic during basketball season.

“We had to get up at four, run outside feed, the horses do all their chores, leave at five, just so they can get to practice at six o’clock in the morning, and then go to school. Then come back, find a way to ride horses, go to bed at nine or 10 o’clock and do homework, or find a way to do homework,” her mother said. So they would only get like, four to five hours of sleep, so they were dedicated to their school and dedicated to their sports and everything else. That’s our life.”
According to Mom, Shaa’tohi likes to stay busy.

“Shonto likes a lot of different things. She likes to crochet. She was learning how to play the guitar. And when she did her public speaking, I think that the biggest obstacle for her was learning how to talk to a large crowd,” her mother said.

Henio spoke fondly of her horses: Tuko, Trinity, Tater, Quincy, and Hawk.

“Tuko, he’s like laid back. He’s chill. And then with Trinity, she’s more like the diva. She’s our little diva over there,” she said. “And Tater is, like just our hard worker, she’s small, but she’s fast, and she’s also very, always upbeat.”

Shąą’tóhí

Henio shared the meaning of her Navajo name, which translates to “a sun ray beaming light of a body of water,” and how she got her name. But to keep it simple, she said they call her Shonto.

“They named me Shonto, for short, because my grandpa, comes from Shonto, Arizona. And they just think that water is a powerful name,” she said. “There’s just a lot towards my name and a lot to Navajo tradition.”

She describes water as revolving around everything.

“The first thing is that water is life. Just the basic phrase, ‘water is life.’ But going deeper, water revolves around everything. Even the body, the human body, has 90 percent water in it, and we just need water to strive off of and survive,” she said.
Henio plans to use her platform as Miss CNRA to promote key values such as horsemanship, discipline, determination, and dedication—qualities that are not only essential in rodeo but also vital in everyday life.

As Miss CNRA, Henio is poised to make a significant impact over the coming year. Her dedication to her heritage, combined with her aspirations for personal growth and community service, embodies the spirit of the CNRA and sets a precedent for future queens.

The pageant kicked off on August 2 with the Appearance & Personality Competition held at Rough Rock Elementary School Gym. The following day, participants showcased their skills in the Horsemanship Competition at Gorman’s Rodeo Arena in Chinle. The coronation ceremony took place on August 4, culminating in Henio’s crowning as the new queen.

Henio competed against Shishena Shirley, Keitha Harvey, Gabrielle Davis, Jordyn Paul, and Holly Klade for the title.

While the outfits she wears are more befitting of a queen this day, the tomboy in her still gets a chance to sneak into her wardrobe.

“And with being the tomboy, having the tomboy attitude, I do try to sneak in a little bit of tomboyish in me, like my Elvis socks right now,” she said.

Her father Elnino Henio served eight years in the Marine Corps from 1998-06, and in the New Mexico National Guard from 2006-08.

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