Yazzie closes Miss Utah Navajo term with work close to home

TSÉBII’NDZISGAII

Dayhenoa Yazzie and those working with her had planned to shear eight sheep that day.

Before they finished, they had sheared 22.

They were already tired and working in the heat when a grandmother stayed with them, bringing water and a meal while talking about her family. She told Yazzie about losing three of her children, two to alcoholism and one in a DUI.

Yazzie also learned that members of the family had lost their home in a tornado in San Juan County, Utah, late last year.

“Hearing their stories really, I think, touched my heart and made me realize the work that still needs to be done in our communities, the work that maybe doesn’t always involve politics, but involves actually being within the community and helping, addressing specific issues like livestock,” Yazzie said.

Yazzie identified the Aneth, Utah, visit when asked which interaction during her year as the 2025-26 Miss Utah Navajo had stayed with her.

On Saturday, Aug. 15, she will relinquish the crown during the Miss Utah Navajo Pageant in Monument Valley after a year of balancing college, community work and the responsibilities of the title.

Yazzie, who is from Cane Valley, Arizona, is Kinłichíi’nii and born for Tábąąhá. Her maternal grandfather is Bit’ahnii and her paternal grandfather is Kiyaa’áanii.

She is a senior at Diné College, where she majors in public health and Diné studies.

This summer, Yazzie applied for several jobs and internships but was not selected. She instead turned to skills she learned through an internship with the Diné College Land Grant Office, where she developed her sheep-shearing skills and learned other livestock services. She started a small sheep-shearing business.

From early May through mid-July, Yazzie said she and those working with her sheared 278 sheep for 50 families in the Navajo Nation. They also trimmed hooves and vaccinated livestock. Some of the money earned through the work went toward funding the Miss Utah Navajo pageant.

“I think what I’m most proud of is the work I was able to do in our communities this summer,” Yazzie said.

Yazzie said she used what she learned through her public health and Diné studies programs to structure community projects such as the sheep-shearing work.

Attending college full time while serving as Miss Utah Navajo required her to manage her schoolwork alongside the title.

“I would say that being a college student isn’t easy and holding a title isn’t easy,” she said. “But doing both at the same time really is a challenge.”

Yazzie said another challenge was the expectations surrounding the Navajo language. Young Diné and young titleholders who are still learning the language can face criticism about how well they speak it, she said.

She is not fluent but said she understands Navajo words as well as some prayers, songs and ceremonies.

“I feel like in this new generation we’re trying to get past that barrier of trying to learn our language but being scared to learn it because of the criticism that we face,” Yazzie said.

She said she continued advocating for the language while acknowledging that she is still learning it herself.

“I am an advocate for it because I understand its importance,” she said.

Her final months as Miss Utah Navajo also brought changes at home.

Yazzie lived in the dorms at Diné College during the fall and spring semesters. During the summer, she returned to Cane Valley to care for her animals.

She has sheep, horses and dogs, and caring for them comes with financial responsibility, she said.

Yazzie said she wants to remain in the Navajo Nation. She attended school there from kindergarten through college and wants to eventually operate her own business.

Her next work begins shortly after she gives up the crown.

Yazzie said she plans to apply to the University of Arizona veterinary program this year while spending the coming year completing prerequisite courses.

She will begin an internship with Utah Navajo Health System in the fall, working as a veterinary assistant. Yazzie said the work will provide experience and hours that can strengthen her veterinary school application.

“I know it’s very rigorous and they only accept so many applicants for that program,” Yazzie said, “but I really do want to apply for that program and hopefully, within the next couple of years become a veterinarian.”

The 2026-27 Miss Utah Navajo Pageant is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. today at Monument Valley High School in Monument Valley, Utah. Yazzie said she is ready to pass the title to her successor.

“I feel like I’ve done my best and I feel like I put a lot of heart and a lot of energy and a lot of emotion into this title,” Yazzie said.

To read the full article, please see the Aug. 13, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.

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