Miss Indian Arizona Association Crowns Miss Indian Arizona, former Miss Gila River is 1st Attendant

Kyle Knox

Gila River Indian News

On Saturday, Oct. 10, the Miss Indian Arizona Association held a virtual ceremony crowning Amy Spotted Wolf, Tohono O’odham Nation, as the 59th Annual Miss Indian Arizona (MIA) for 2020-2021 and former Miss Gila River Autumn Cooper as 1st Attendant. The Tohono O’odham Cultural Center and Museum hosted the MIA Association for the crowning.

Due to COVID-19, this year’s MIA drew from the past year’s court and allowed for an official transition to occur and new MIA crowned.

Miss Indian Arizona Association Executive Director Denise Homer said, “The decision as to who would be crowned Miss Indian Arizona 2020-2021 was made by the Miss Indian Arizona Association (MIAA) membership.” 

The association offered the 2019-2020 court to serve another year and Amy and Autumn agreed, however, Miss Indian Arizona Audrianna Mitchell declined.

Homer further stated, “The logical decision as to who would be crowned MIA was that since Amy was 1st Attendant she should assume the role of Miss Indian Arizona, 2020-2021 and Autumn would become 1st Attendant to Miss Indian Arizona, 2020-2021.”

Though the program is drastically different, the MIA court remains motivated. Spotted Wolf said, “I am so excited and extremely honored to have the opportunity to be Miss Indian Arizona. Although we are in a challenging time, I am excited because we have the opportunity to experiment with how tribal royalty can still interact with the public and uphold important platforms that we want to share.”

MIA 1st Attendant Autumn Cooper shared similar sentiments. “I feel honored to be representing not only the Gila River Indian Community but all 22 tribes in the state of Arizona for another year,” she said. 

During this year’s reign, both will be holding virtual events and are developing interactive ways to engage audiences from all around the state and Indian Country. 

Spotted Wolf said, “The Miss Indian Arizona Court would love to reach and connect with as many people as we can, so please follow Miss Indian Arizona on Facebook and on Instagram by searching Miss Indian Arizona to stay updated on what we have planned for this year.”