SHIPROCK

Ariana Roselyn Young, the reigning Miss Northern Navajo Teen, has traded in her crown for a more prestigious one.

During the Friday evening coronation of the 2017-18 Miss Northern Navajo and Miss Northern Navajo Teen, Young gave up the crown and title she has carried for a year — and stepped immediately into a new role. The 18-year-old emerged from a grueling, weeklong competition as the new Miss Northern Navajo. She will represent the Northern Navajo Agency for the next 12 months.

“This is going to be back-to-back service,” a radiant Young said after the coronation ceremony. “I just want to keep improving myself, keep pushing the next generation to learn language and culture, keep meeting new people and keep traveling.”

Young, of Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, juggled her duties as Miss Northern Navajo Teen with a full load of classes at San Juan College, where she has a double major in Native American studies and criminal justice. She’s also pursuing a minor in public speaking.

“During the year, I learned how to speak more openly,” she told an audience that gathered for the coronation Friday at the Phil L. Thomas Performing Arts Center. “I learned to sing the national anthem in Navajo and I was able to teach the Navajo language across the country.”

Young competed for Miss Northern Navajo on a platform of “self-awareness through k’e.” She said she wants to continue her service without missing a beat. “Being a royalty is not about the glitz and the glam,” she said. “It’s being able to stand up here and talk about the problems in the communities.”