Miss Navajo supervisor, assistant resign

WINDOW ROCK

Long time Miss Navajo Program Supervisor Dinah Wauneka and her assistant Barbara Phillips have resigned from the Office of Miss Navajo.

Michele Crank, staff member at the Office of President and Vice President, said in a brief interview with the Navajo Times on Thursday that Wauneka and Phillips resigned. She wasn’t sure when.

“The two resigned on their own accord,” said Crank who is currently working with the Office of Miss Navajo since the women resigned from their positions.

“I’m just helping Miss Navajo and her scheduling and functions until we get new staff,” said Crank.

There has been no formal announcement.

Miss Navajo Ronda Joe said she had no comment on the possible resignation of Wauneka and Phillips.

Neither OPVP Communication Director Mihio Manus nor executive staffer Yvonne Kee-Billison did not respond to requests for comment. The Office of Miss Navajo falls under the jurisdiction of OPVP.

Navajo Times also tried reaching out to Wauneka and Phillips but was unsuccessful.

In November, the Navajo Times broke the news that the 2016–2017 Miss Navajo contestants were bringing up grievances they had toward Wauneka and Phillips to the OPVP.

The women said that they experienced emotional and verbal abuse, intimidation, nepotism, favoritism and all around cranky attitudes. The contestants said they went public in hopes it would change the way the Office of Miss Navajo functioned.

“I don’t ever want someone that I know and that I love to run for Miss Navajo and be put in the same situation that we were put in,” said contestant Mariah Claw in a previous interview. “Even though we weren’t all directly targeted, it still affected us, and the way we thought of the pageant.”

“It’s our responsibility to make sure that we do make it known and make sure that we do what we can,” said Claw in a previous interview. “It would be so irresponsible to let this slide for our younger sisters.”

---