Kaila White

The Republic | azcentral.com

The first time Danielle Ta’Sheena Finn competed in a pageant, it was the tribal equivalent of Miss Universe.

Any woman from any tribe in the world can apply to compete for the title of Miss Indian World, one of the most prestigious honors in the Native community.

The pageant takes place at the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque. It is known as the largest powwow in North America, with more than 100,000 guests every year.

Out of 24 contestants in 2014, the 23-year-old took second runner-up. After taking a year off from the pageant to start law school at Arizona State University, she couldn't shake the desire to return.

"I wanted to do Miss Indian World because no one ever comes from my tribe, ever. ... Why haven’t we been represented before?" Finn said. She is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North and South Dakota is the fifth-largest reservation in the U.S.

A second shot at international recognition

She applied and for two months practiced song, dance and storytelling and answered her family's practice interview questions. Unlike other pageants, contestants are judged on personality and cultural knowledge, not appearance.

While some women had pageant trainers, Finn, now 25, had her mom, Brenda, to encourage her and perfect the beading and feathers on her outfit.

Finn traveled to Albuquerque and for five days practiced and performed under the eyes of 25 anonymous judges who watched the contestants at all hours. By the end, on the night of April 30, she was sure she had lost.

"I went out there (on stage) and put a smile on," she said. But after she won two awards, she knew she had a chance at the crown. Already known as always smiley and bubbly, Finn was beaming.

"As they said 'from the Standing Rock ...' I was jumping up and down. I couldn’t even hold it in," she said, laughing. "As soon as I heard Standing Rock I knew that that was my people and that was me."

She was named Miss Indian World that night, earning an ornately beaded crown and sash she will wear as she travels the world as a cultural goodwill ambassador to visit Native and indigenous communities for a year.

"One of the biggest things she said was, ‘It’s not my title, it’s not my crown — it’s the people’s,’ " Finn's mother said. "I thought that was so amazing. That was so selfless of her to say that."

"I really want to inspire people to go after their dreams," Finn said. "Even if it takes twice, like me."

Finding her voice for the people

Finn grew up mostly in Porcupine, N.D., as well as on the nearby Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Bismarck, N.D.

"I was on and off the reservation my whole life, so I know both worlds," she said. "A lot of people focus on the reservation aspect, but I’m very proud to be a city Native."

Brenda put Danielle in powwows as a child and gave her a naming ceremony when she was 8. Her family has been involved in tribal governance for decades.

FInn's cultural knowledge helped shape her pageant platform, or the causes she wants to bring awareness to: higher education, language preservation or revitalization, and suicide prevention.

Finn speaks Lakota, a variation of the Sioux language that only 2,000 people speak.

Among 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S., American Indians or Alaska Natives have the highest suicide rate of all youth, and Native men are more than twice as likely to commit suicide as most other gender, racial and ethnic subgroups, according to a report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And it's not just a problem in the United States. A Canadian First Nation declared a state of emergency in April after 11 people attempted suicide in one night.

"With my tribe, we’ve had several state of emergencies for suicide since I was little," Finn said. "There weren't a lot of (contestants) who did suicide prevention. It’s a touchy subject. No one wants to be a voice of that, but I don’t care, I’ll do it."

Plans to use law to help and guide her tribe

Finn has another monumental occasion coming later this year: She hopes to graduate in December, a semester early, with her Juris Doctor from ASU.

Robert Clinton, a foundation professor of law at ASU, said Finn is one of his favorite students from his more than 40 years of teaching Indian law.

"She’s exactly the kind of person we wanted to train and make sure was the voice of Indian country instead of us white guys," Clinton said, laughing. "To see someone like Danielle come along is just the fulfillment of a dream."

Finn never told him she was competing — he found out she won on the news.

"To have her be the voice not only by being a proud, vivacious, intelligent Native woman who will become a lawyer but also being Miss Indian World is just spectacular."

After graduation and after her Miss Indian World duties are done, Finn wants to return home to serve her tribe and, eventually, possibly the nation.

"In the bigger sense, it means she’s on the right path," her mother said. "She’s got a good voice for the people and she's smart, sees a long distance. We are really proud of her. I think the whole tribe is proud of her."