New Ceremonial queen is from Pinedale

GALLUP

Last Wednesday, the El Morro Theater was filled near to the brim as the final contest for the Inter-Tribal Ceremonial queen pageant was held and a new queen was crowned.

At the beginning of the pageant and crowning, the host, former Miss Indian World Cheyenne Kippenberger, spoke about the duties of the ceremonial queen, which revolves heavily around being an ambassador for the Ceremonial and Gallup.

“She (the Ceremonial queen) proudly represents her family, her tribe, and the Gallup community,” Kippenberger explained. “As a role model, her efforts will empower Native and Indigenous people while simultaneously representing them both in a traditional and contemporary sense.”

The queen will attend many different events throughout the year of her reign while sharing her culture and heritage with others.

Soon after Kippenberger gave an outline of the duties and role of the Ceremonial queen, the pageant continued into the traditional talent.

Traditional knowledge displayed

The traditional talent was the final contest of the pageant, where the six contestants displayed their skills on stage in front of the judges.

The contestants demonstrated their traditional knowledge by singing songs in their language, speaking about the meaning of the Navajo basket, explaining Navajo pottery, and doing rug-weaving demonstrations.

The new Miss Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial Queen for 2022-23, Cajaun Cleveland, took her traditional talent a slightly different route than the other contestants – she did a short presentation about the history of the clothing of Diné women.

She spoke about how the clothing evolved from buckskin dresses to rug dresses and finally to the three-tiered skirts many Diné women now wear.

“We are Diné, and we honor that by dressing up in our traditional clothing and wearing our jewelry,” Cleveland said as she ended her traditional talent. “We are children of Diyin Dine’é, which is our gods, and we honor them.”

‘My duty’

Toward the end of the night and as the crowning inched closer, former Ceremonial Queen Amber Ballenger gave her farewell speech.

Ballenger thanked her family and the Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial committee for their support throughout her reign.

“It is such an honor to be here with you all after 100 years and being able to represent Gallup and the Ceremonial. It really is a true honor,” Ballenger said.

She said she knew she wanted to run for Ceremonial queen since she was younger because her mother and sister are former queens.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to run for Miss Ceremonial just seeing photos and hearing stories of my mother and then seeing my sister win in 2006,” she said. “I knew then that it was my duty to follow the legacy, and so I’m so proud to follow in your (her mother’s) footsteps.”

She said it showed firsthand how many young Native people actively tried to preserve Native cultures, languages, and traditions during her reign.

“I feel like there’s a constant chatter of lack and loss,” Ballenger said. “We are lacking tradition; we are losing our culture, but I don’t believe that to be true, especially after this year.”

She hopes the pageant continues to grow over the next 100 years.

“Thank you for allowing me to represent Gallup and Ceremonial,” she said. “I will forever be grateful to be a part of the Miss Gallup Ceremonial Queen legacy, and it’s something I will hold dear to my heart for a lifetime, so thank you for allowing me to represent you.”

As the night neared its end and the crowd grew with anticipation, the queen was finally announced to be Diné contestant Cajaun Cleveland from Pinedale, New Mexico.

‘Everything almost on her own’

The excitement from Cleveland’s family was evident as her grandmother and mother stood up immediately with their hands over their mouths, staring at their loved one as she received her crown and gifts on stage.

Cleveland spoke to the Times shortly after she was crowned and said she is heavily about being involved with Native youth.

“It (being the new Miss Gallup Ceremonial) feels great,” Cleveland said. “It feels really awesome being the one the judges can depend on to influence our youth and to represent Indigenous people as well as the event and (being) the titleholder.”

She believes the Ceremonial is important because it inspires the younger generation, and she thinks connecting with one’s inner and spiritual self is important.

During her reign, she plans to be involved with Native youth to help further connect them to their cultural self, heritage, and culture.

“I really believe you find your best self when you’re connected with your gods above,” Cleveland said.

LeWanna Morgan, Cleveland’s mother, said she is so happy to have her daughter as the new reigning queen.

“Oh my god, I’m still in shock,” Morgan said. “It’s amazing.”

While she helped Cleveland in small ways, such as getting her ready, Cleveland knew what she was doing.

She hopes her daughter spreads her knowledge of her culture, continues to learn her traditions, and encourages people to learn the Navajo language.

Ruby Morgan, Cleveland’s grandmother, called her granddaughter’s crowning “a glorious moment.”

“I’m so proud of her,” she said. “She did everything almost on her own, just teaching her different things to do, and I really love what she did. She’s an amazing woman.”

Ruby was Cleveland’s seamstress and said that is as far as her help went along with teaching her granddaughter different things.

Ruby hopes Cleveland goes out to meet new people and is praised and blessed wherever she goes.

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