Maykh’ 

My name is Maleina Carel and I’m currently the Miss Southern Ute for 2024-2025.  

I’m 16 years old and currently in the 11th grade this school year. My bands are Mouache-Capote and Weenuche.  

My maternal grandparents are Hardy Joy Sr. and the late Anna Weaver. My great grandparents on my paternal grandparent side are James Price Sr. and Linda Lopez of Towaoc, Colo. My paternal grandparents are the late Vernest Carel and Marlene Price Carel. I have one older sister Rhianna Carel.  

I also serve on the Sunshine Cloud Smith Youth Advisory Council.  

I would like to share my first quarterly report of the events that I have attended and participated as my reign as the Miss Southern Ute for 2024-2025 started on Sept. 6, 2024, where my Jr. Miss Southern Ute reign for 2023-2024 ended and I was then newly crowned as the Miss Southern Ute for 2024-2025 at our 64th annual Southern Ute Tribal Fair & Powwow. 

 

September events 

 

I attended the Southern Ute Tribal Fair Rodeo. I gave an introduction and welcomed everyone in attendance and helped with honoring the past rodeo queens, I traveled to Montrose, Colo. and attended the Uncompahgre Powwow, I attended the Ms. Indigenous Pageant at San Juan College in Farmington, N.M. I supported and welcomed the newly crowned Ms. Indigenous San Juan College 2024-2025, Keena Jim and my last event that I attended for the month of September was the Drums of Fall Powwow at McGee Park Coliseum in Farmington, N.M. 

 

October events 

 

I attended the Open House at Southern Ute Education where I participated in the scavenger hunt and met all the Education departments and their faculty. I traveled to Towaoc, Colo. and participated in the parade and enjoyed the day with the sister Tribe celebrating their Ute Day. I attended the Indigenous Peoples Day Solidarity Walk-Festival at the Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. I attended and participated in the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk and the 2024 Breast Cancer Awareness Dinner and Survivor Celebration that the Shining Mountain Health & Wellness invited the Royalty to be a part of. It was very informative, and the dinner was very good. My last event was the Homecoming parade that I rode along with the Little Miss Southern Ute Alternate and Jr. Miss Southern Ute. 

 

November events 

 

I was asked to be Head Women for the Intertribal Powwow San Luis American Center on Nov. 2 held at the Boys & Girls Club in Alamosa, Colo. It was an honor to be asked to be Head Women for this Powwow and I held a Northern Traditional Cloth special. It was a nice little powwow, and the head staff were very welcoming and very accommodating. 

I attended the Veterans Day Community Powwow here in Ignacio, Colo. held at the Ignacio High School, the Veterans Community Brunch held at the Multipurpose Facility, Wanbli Ota Social Dance at the Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. The Southern Ute Tribal Thanksgiving dinner held at the Sky Ute Casino Resort Events Center, I attended dance performances for the following schools for Native American Heritage Month: Ignacio High School, Ignacio Middle School, Bayfield Primary and Intermediate School, Park Elementary Assembly and we supported a former royalty at her school at Florida Mesa Elementary and joined her in a dance performance, I attended Sip, Chat and Chew at the Multi-Purpose 

Facility and helped serve the elders and enjoyed the company of everyone in attendance, I attended Native Fun in honor of Native American Heritage Month held at the Southern Ute Indian Montessori Academy where the royalty did a dance performance and lastly, I traveled to Fort Duchesne, Utah to attend and participated in the Thanksgiving Powwow held at the Fort Duchesne gym. It was nice to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with our Ute sister Tribe. 

 

This concludes my events and participation in my quarterly report. I hope you have enjoyed reading and seeing all the events that I have been to so far. I have enjoyed traveling and I’m looking forward to many more events. I want to wish you all Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas. May the Creator watch over every one of you and send blessings to you and your families. 

 

Tog’oiak’ 

Maleina J. Carel