TVLSE, Oklv. – On Thursday, May 2 Miss Indian Tulsa and Junior Miss Indian Tulsa were crowned during a reception at the Autumn Star Indian Art Festival at the West of Main Producers Association (WOMPA) complex.
Abbey Jean Runnels was crowned Miss Indian Tulsa. Runnels holds Mvskoke, Sac & Fox, Delaware, Shawnee, Lakota, Caddo, Otoe, and Iowa heritage. Her parents are Teresa and Jack Runnels. She is a member of Duck Creek Ceremonial Ground.
Katie Jean Alexander was crowned Jr. Miss Indian Tulsa. Alexander holds Mvskoke, Yuchi, Pawnee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Wyandotte heritage. Her parents are Tricia Fields Alexander and Tony Alexander. She is a member of Polecat Ceremonial Ground. She is also a member of Little Cussetah, and attends Tulsa Indian Methodist and Solid Rock Church.
Both Runnels and Alexander are from Glenpool and reside in Tulsa County. They attend Glenpool Public Schools and are members of Glenpool Creek Indian Community.
The revival of the titles is all thanks to a group of women who grew up together and have remained friends for years. Friends Claudia Tyner Little Axe, Luana Biggoose Strike Axe Murphy, Tiana Long, Nicole Badoni, and Tricia Fields Alexander remembered the titles being a big part of Tulsa Indian life in the 1980s and 1990s. The titles have been inactive for more than a decade.
The titles were created by Archie Mason and his late wife Ramona. Tricia Fields Alexander shared that while working to revive the titles, the group received Archie Mason’s blessing. Ramona Mason’s daughter, Marcy Skeeter Wakeford also supported the endeavor and allowed the use of the titles’ original crowns.
Tricia Fields Alexander, a Mvskoke citizen, runs Autumn Star Catering, which hosted the event that ran alongside the art festival. The catering company specializes in traditional Native American foods and has worked pow wows, festivals, private events, tribal meetings, ceremonies and funerals.
Alexander has also been organizing art markets since their inaugural Native American Christmas Market in 2011. In addition to the spring art market they also host an annual Indian Sweetheart Festival in February and an annual market in the fall.
Working with and respecting Indian artists and craftspeople is important to Alexander’s business model and family history. She shared, “For me as a daughter of someone who’s an artist and a granddaughter of people who were Indian artists and performers, storytellers, and singers, it’s important the events are organized by Native people who were immersed and grew up in the environment and that can advocate and look out for the artists and they can have a platform to sell.”
Alexander shared that an important aspect of the day was the amount of support the girls had from their communities. She shared, “The number of elders that remember when the titles began who came out to support the girls and take time out of their day, despite the rain and the clouds, that they came out was important.That’s what we need in the community for our youth, for people to show love and support for them and they had that tonight… the whole room was filled.”
