Date:
11/16/2004
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
Reporter: Helena Rodriguez
PORTALES — For the new Miss Native American ENMU, Dailauna Robertson, it's not all about the crown that she wears so proudly upon her head or the thick Native American jewelry lavished around her neck. "It's about improving my culture. It's a lot of responsibility because a lot of people are looking up to me now. It's not something to be taken lightly," Robertson said. Robertson received the crown from past Miss Native American ENMU Dwan Martinez. The real challenge begins now for this 22-year-old junior, public relations major at Eastern New Mexico University. She has already begun making speaking appearances. Her first was recently with the Altrusa Club at Eastern. She also has a month-full of engagements during the ongoing Native American Heritage Month and plans to do some recruiting from Eastern on Navajo reservations around the state. In addition, she wants to address some issues plaguing the reservations. "I think I have a lot of duties to fulfill as the new Miss Native American ENMU," Robertson said. "Lately, I've been thinking a lot about veterans and about what's going on with cancer, the elderly, and the high rate of diabetes among Native Americans. I'm also very concerned about drug awareness, particularly the high use of methamphetamines on the reservations and about domestic violence on the reservations." These are just some of the plans for Robertson, who has spent the past few summers working with the disabled at Easter Seals Camp Fairlee Manor in Chester County, Md. Robertson tries to stay abreast of what is going on in tribal politics. She's particularly interested in issues such as casino gambling, land disputes and grazing rights. "I get on line to read the Navajo Times or Gallup Independent to keep up," Robertson said. She will soon speak at L. L. Brown Elementary School in Portales. In addition, she will do pottery during the "Experiencing Native American Art" event on Tuesday, Nov. 16, inside of the Pecos Room in the Campus Union Building. The event is part of Eastern's Native American Heritage Month. Robertson said she learned to do pottery at age 17. When she goes to stay with her father in Sanders, Ariz., she helps him make pottery and also volunteers at elderly homes there. "I volunteer at the elderly homes so I can listen to old stories that they tell. That is my way of staying in touch with my people," she said. Robertson is from the Manuelito reservation in New Mexico and is from the Folded Arms clan, having been born into the Honey Comb people. Her maternal grandfather is of Mexican descent and she said her paternal grandfather, a Native American, is known as Red Running Water. At Eastern, Robertson is not alone. Her mother, Patricia Begaye, is a student at Eastern, working on a degree in business, and her brother and two sisters attend Portales public schools. She also has an older sister attending Clovis Community College. At home, Robertson is very much into her Native American culture. She is helping her mother make Native American dolls to give away for Christmas and she is trying to learn to sing the National Anthem in Navajo. Following graduation from Eastern next year, she is thinking about pursing a master's degree. Robertson said her ideal of a perfect future job would be to own her own business in fashions or pottery, or she would like to publish her own magazine. Dailauna Robertson (photo by Helena Rodriguez)