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Applications for the 2021-22 Miss Cherokee and Junior Miss Cherokee competitions are now available.

The Miss Cherokee Leadership Competition will be held Saturday, Aug. 28, and the Junior Miss Cherokee Leadership Competition on Aug. 27. The Little Cherokee Ambassador Competition will not be held this year due to the ongoing pandemic.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said everybody is looking forward to the event after it was primarily held virtually last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said the leadership competitions will be held virtually and in-person with a limited audience this year.

Regardless of who is crowned during the event, Chief Hoskin Jr. said all of the young ladies are winners because they show such great leadership through the program. He said those that are selected will go on to spend the year as Cherokee leaders.

“Each of these competitions offers a great opportunity for the contestants to share their knowledge and personalities with the judges, and it’s something we look forward to every year,” said MaryKay Henderson, Miss Cherokee sponsor and 1980-82 Miss Cherokee. “As ambassadors of the Cherokee Nation, our new Miss Cherokee and Junior Miss Cherokee will spend the year sharing their culture and heritage, while maintaining all the best qualities of Cherokee youth.”

Miss Cherokee contestants must be high school graduates between the ages of 18-22 as of Aug. 27. Candidates cannot have previously served as Miss Cherokee and must be a Cherokee Nation citizen living in the reservation.

In previous years, Miss Cherokee has visited the White House and historic sites in Washington, D.C., including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. She has also visited the Oklahoma Capitol and Cherokee Nation community meetings across the country.

To run for Junior Miss Cherokee, contestants must be a middle school or high school student between the ages of 13-18, a Cherokee Nation citizen and reside within the reservation.

Committee representatives will accept hand-delivered applications Thursday, July 1, between noon and 6:00 p.m. in the lobby of the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex in Tahlequah. Applications presented after the deadline will not be accepted. Hand-carried or mailed applications will also be accepted prior to July 1.

For more information on the Miss Cherokee Leadership Competition, contact Henderson at 918-453-5000, ext. 4172. For more information on the Junior Miss Cherokee Leadership Competition, contact Reba Bruner at 918-453-5000, ext. 5397.

To download the application, visit cherokee.org/all-services/education-services/youth-leadership/. Applications are also available at the Cherokee First desk at the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex in Tahlequah. The deadline for all applications is July 1.