Crowning Miss Navajo

Filmmaker Billy Luther is on a whirlwind, documentary-toting journey that has brought him to the Vineyard for the Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival with his film, Miss Navajo. Not for the prissy, evening dress-wearing pageant girl, the Miss Navajo Nation contest skips the frills in favor of showcasing the young ladies’ skills as Navajos — like the slaughtering and butchering of sheep, making bread, and starting fires from “scratch.” Ultimately, this film illuminates one small part of Navajo life otherwise not seem by the general public.