Our community is large and wildly diverse, which is at the same time our strength and our weakness. #Activate10 is a movement seeking to increase communication between individuals and organizations across Fremont County and to promote positive action in our communities.
In November, County 10 shared Christie Wildcat’s plan to compete for the Miss Indian World title in April 2020. Since then, Christie graduated from Central Wyoming College, is in the home stretch of graduating from the University of Wyoming with a triple major in May, and, among many other things, is preparing for the four main competition categories of the Miss Indian World Competition in Albuquerque.
On top of the competition categories, is selling raffle tickets. Raffle ticket sales pay for the pageant fee, offset funds needed to travel to Albuquerque, and in the event of a tie, the competitor with the most raffle tickets sold receives the title. Christie has also sold around 300 so far but needs to reach her committed number of 500.
Raffle tickets are reasonably priced at $2.50 each, and you don’t have to be present to win. If you would like to support Christie’s journey and purchase raffle tickets, you can email her at [email protected]. She can accept cash, check, Venmo, PayPal, and Facebook Pay. Tickets can be sold up until she leaves for the pageant, which is the week of April 23rd.
Photo of a raffle ticket with a few of the prizes:
The four main competition categories include Traditional Talent Presentation representing your Tribe(s), Public Speaking, Private Interviews, and a Dance Competition.
Since November, Christie has researched and assembled a recurve bow for her planned Traditional Talent Presentation of archery. She’s also done extensive research on Arapaho people and hunting. During her presentation, one of the things she plans to focus on is the empowerment of hunting for women. Christie herself has felt empowered by providing food through hunting for not only her immediate family but her extended family as well. She also shared her experience of being the only Native participating in the 2014 one-shot antelope hunt in Buffalo, and being the first out of everyone to harvest an antelope. “Hunting is not just for males,” she noted. “Women can be breadwinners for their families as well.”
She’s also in level four of the Arapaho Language course at the University of Wyoming. She meets with her instructor Robin Lopez weekly. Robin has helped a lot, Christie shared. In Arapaho, she is able to share her background, school information and more. “I feel proud knowing that I know my native language,” she said.
Christie and her family have also been assembling regalia for the competition. She is listening to different powwow songs to prepare for the possibility of different beats during the Dance Competition, as well as working on public speaking. Don’t forget she’s doing all of this while getting ready to graduate from UW with a triple major in Native American and Indigenous Studies, Anthropology, and Political Science. She is also on the UW Track & Field Team, so many academic groups, community service organizations, committees, and the Wyoming Task Force for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons. She was at the Senate File 8 bill signing with Governor Gordan this week (shared below).
Christie shared a big thank you to everyone who has supported her, reached out with words of encouragement and everything in between. “I hope I can represent the Wind River Reservation and Riverton Community,” she said.