Miss Indian World Pageant contestant sees dream come true

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There aren't too many people who get a chance to make their dreams come true before they even turn 20, but that's just what will happen to Reanna Okanee when she goes to Albuquerque at the end of April to compete in the 2003 Miss Indian World Pageant.

"I decided a long time ago, when I was younger, I think about 14, that I wanted to do this," said the 19 year-old from Thunderchild First Nation. "I told my mom, and we told my grandma before she passed away that I wanted to go to the pageant, and just to see that happiness in her eyes, it encouraged me more," Okanee said.

Okanee's grandmother was so happy when she learned her granddaughter wanted to compete in the pageant that she chose to pass her Indian name-Walks About Woman-on to Okanee.

Okanee sent in her application to the pageant, and a letter came back saying her application had been approved. The dream was now reality.

"I was really excited. I was so happy. There's practically no words that can explain how excited I was," she said.

While the Miss Indian World Pageant is the first time Okanee will have participated in anything on such a large scale, she was senior princess for the Thunderchild band in 2000. She also has a lot of experience with public speaking, having competed in speech competitions starting when she was in Grade 7, and continuing all through high school.

Part of what has inspired Okanee to get involved in public speaking was a conversation she had with her mother.

"My sister was always copying me and everything. I told my mom, 'Tell her to quit copying me' and my mom's like, 'Why, when she looks up to you.' And that really opened my eyes, and I was like, 'Well, if I'm going to be a role model, then I have to speak up. And if I want to get what I believe out there, then I have to speak up.'"

If she is chosen to be the next Miss Indian World, Okanee has a number of messages she will try to convey during her reign.

"I would like to promote Indigenous awareness everywhere I go, especially to non-Native people. Because when they think "Indian" they think all the negative things. And I just want to dispel that, to show them that people who live on the reserve are working hard, and working for their people living in their band."

Another message she hopes to promote is the importance of staying in school. Okanee knows first hand the challenges young people can face in school, and credits the unwavering support of her family for keeping her from dropping out.

"I was a victim of bullying, and it was hard. There were times when I wanted to quit, just quit school. I was in Grade 9. I wanted to quit school, I didn't care. And I told my mom, I said, 'I just want to quit.' And she said, 'No, you're not quitting.' I said, 'Why not?' She's like, 'Because you've gotten this far. You're going all the way,'" she said. "So I stuck in there."

Another time when the situation seemed unbearable and again she wanted to quit school, her brother stepped in.

"He said . . . 'You're not quitting. They're just trying to pull you down, and it looks like it's happening, and you're letting it happen.' So I just stuck right in there. I just ignored them, I carried my head high, and I just stuck to my guns, and carried on with my education, and I got through it. They realized they couldn't pull me down anymore, and they just quit. So it was really hard, but then I got through it," she said.

While competing in the Miss World Pageant is a dream come true for Okanee, it is certainly not the only dream she is reaching for. She is currently in her first year of university, completing University of Saskatchewan courses at an off-campus school located on her home reserve. She is in first year arts and science, working towards a bachelor of education, and a bachelor of arts in Native studies. She hopes to teach Native studies once she has earned her degrees, "and then hopefully go back for my masters degree, and then my PhD," she said.

"And pretty much work with chidren, because I love working with children, and to see them dancing or singing, or just doing stuff that represents their culture, just really makes me feel happy, because I know that they're carrying on their traditions."

While Okanee may be seen as a role model, she herself has had a number of role models in her life, many of who she still looks up to.

"My late grandfather, he passed away two years ago. And he meant a lot to me. He was an awesome speaker. When he passed away, it hurt a lot, but then I realized, well, he'd want me to finish school," she said. "He'd always encourage me to do something. Like he'd say, 'Well, just go for it.' He's like, 'Don't quit, just go.' And I'd keep on going.

"To me, the Miss Indian World Pageant . . . it's not all about the title you carry or the crown you wear. It's mainly about showing the world who you can be, who you are. And showing that dreams do come true. And for me, just to be a Miss Indian World contestant was a dream. And to be known nationally as a role model, a positive role model, means a lot to me," she said.