2025-2026 Ms.AIHEC

2025-2026 Ms.AIHEC 2025-2026 Ms.AIHEC - Ishta Holitopa Wabaunsee

2026 AIHEC Conference Part 1: Serving as your Ms. AIHEC at the 2026 AIHEC Conference has been such an honor. Seeing stud...
03/26/2026

2026 AIHEC Conference Part 1:
Serving as your Ms. AIHEC at the 2026 AIHEC Conference has been such an honor. Seeing students come together to represent their TCUs, compete in various categories, and support one another was a phenomenal experience. Kicking the week off with a check-in, our team met some of the main event planners and received goodie bags to use the following week.

Day two included the scholarship luncheon and the TCJ poetry slam, and we celebrated the accomplishments of TCU students. Our Therran Moore and Liliana Kester were awarded for their academic leadership. Haskell’s very own, Emmalee Fields, made it to one of the final rounds of the slam, and we are very proud of her!

On day three, I was honored to lead the parade of flags and to be announced as a representative of my tribal nations and as a Haskell student. Following, I was asked to help judge the Ms. AIHEC interviews. We had so many powerful and well-accomplished applicants vying for the title, and I am grateful to have learned more from each of you. In between judging, I competed in the persuasive speech competition, giving my speech on heart disease, its impacts on Native communities, and sharing some of my dad’s legacy. Finishing my busy day on the Haskell Handgame Team, we competed on the first day of the competition. Our team started strong and had a competitive yet sportsmanlike spirit.

Day four, I had the opportunity to support and watch the knowledge bowl competition. Congratulations to all the teams that competed, and to our Haskell Knowledge Bowl Team! Our second day of the Hand Game Tournament continued as our team displayed our second set of skirts (red rainbow full-stack skirts). The team played fair, sang so well, and carried an upbeat spirit throughout. I am so proud of y’all and especially our team captain, Kadence Weston, who did such a great job leading us through the tournament. I also had the opportunity to meet the artist who made my crown!! It was so great meeting the two of you and yakoke for the free t-shirt.

10/30/2025

What a great night!! I loved seeing everyone dancing so beautifully 🫶🏽

10/07/2025

Haskell is hosting the 3rd Annual Red Road Wellbriety Walk on Thursday, October 23 at the XC Course from 5–6:30 PM. We’ll come together for prayer, a drum group, and smudging as we walk in support of wellness and sobriety. This is a time to reflect, connect, and walk the Red Road together as a community.

📅 Thursday, October 23
📍 Meet at the Haskell XC Course
🕔 5–6:30 PM

Questions? Reach out to [email protected] or [email protected].

A big thank you to Tara for creating this article! Give it a read to learn more about my pageant journey 🫶🏽
10/06/2025

A big thank you to Tara for creating this article! Give it a read to learn more about my pageant journey 🫶🏽

Join us tomorrow for a Haskell Day of Remembrance. This event is brought to you in collaboration with the Miss. AIHEC, M...
09/30/2025

Join us tomorrow for a Haskell Day of Remembrance. This event is brought to you in collaboration with the Miss. AIHEC, Miss. Haskell, Haskell Brave, and Haskell students. The day will consist of a prayer fire all day, poster making, prayer and smudging before a walk of silence, a panel discussion, and pizza shuttle for dinner.

09/17/2025

Haskell was established on September 17th, 1884.

From 22 students in 1884 to the thriving university it is today, Haskell Indian Nations University has grown into a place where Indigenous leaders are empowered and Native culture thrives. Through generations of resilience, stories, and achievements, Haskell has transformed from its early days as a boarding school into a vibrant community representing Tribal Nations from across the U.S. and Alaska.

Here’s to honoring the past and moving onward, together!

Learn more: https://www.haskellhistory.com

AIHEC has opened many doors for me in the first few months as Ms. AIHEC. Because of my title, I was invited to attend th...
07/10/2025

AIHEC has opened many doors for me in the first few months as Ms. AIHEC. Because of my title, I was invited to attend the 2025 National UNITY Conference in San Diego, California. The saying “we are our ancestors’ dreams” was constantly at the back of my mind, seeing so many ambitious young Native leaders. I was blessed to have the opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded peers, encourage students to consider attending Haskell, and assist with multiple workshops. I am lucky to have walked away with numerous new friendships with students nationwide. Thank you to the students in the UNITY chapter at Haskell for welcoming me with open arms. Congratulations, Victor, on your win. You will continue to make the Southern Plains region stronger. Thank you, Star, a 25 Under 25 honoree, for guiding me through my first UNITY conference. I will cherish the bond we created. Who knows, maybe I will be blessed enough to attend next year's national conference in Oklahoma City!

After two years at Haskell + dual enrollment at Washburn in high school, I am proud to say I earned my Associate of Scie...
07/10/2025

After two years at Haskell + dual enrollment at Washburn in high school, I am proud to say I earned my Associate of Science in Health, Sport, and Exercise Science with Magna cm laude honors! That said, I will be staying here at Haskell working towards earning my Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous and American Indian Studies. During my Ms. AIHEC interview, I spoke about how I am in the KU Exchange program, where I can take classes at the University of Kansas for no additional cost. Because of this opportunity, I can work towards meeting the prerequisite requirments to apply to physical therapy school (one of the careers I am strongly considering). I currently use my degree for one of my platforms, fighting heart disease in NDN Country, on the physical fitness side of my advocacy.
I look forward to making the most of my last two years here and the many more memories to come!
Mini 📸 dump following

What a fun and busy last week before the semester ends! While I have been busy studying away as I prep for finals, I man...
07/10/2025

What a fun and busy last week before the semester ends! While I have been busy studying away as I prep for finals, I managed to squeeze in a few breaks, attending the Haskell Runway Indigenous Cotoure Goes Vogue Vol. 2 Show and the Ms. Haskell/Haskell Brave competition.
When attending the AIHEC trip, I gave a speech about the importance of indigenous fashion in mainstream media. Native fashion has always and will continue to play a crucial role in expressing our identity, resisting assimilation through adaptations by means of survival, and aiding in advocating for our rights as sovereign people. The designers, models, production crew, and attendees have spotlighted the beauty of the diversity in NDN country. Sidenote: I had a fantastic time attending with my sister, cheering on model friends, and dusting off my modeling skills (see video at the end) 😛
Fun fact, I am a third-generation Haskell student, and when my mom attended in the late 90s, she won the Miss Haskell competition. I used to see her picture hanging up in Navarre Hall daily as I walked into work. As I competed in mainstream pageantry growing up, I frequently attended the competition (my mom was a judge once 😁 ). Coming back a year later, but this time a part of the crowd, I appreciated each girl and guy’s commitment to their cultures and communities. What an impressive group of young leaders 🙌🏽 Going back to my mom, I was blessed enough to wear the regalia she was crowned in when she won in (4th pic), don’t I look like her ☺️ Also peep the AIHEC folks and shout out to Aiyanna for receiving 1st runner up 🎉 she’s a great campus leader
Stay tuned for a graduation post!!

A little over a week ago, I had the opportunity to represent Haskell Indian Nations University at the American Indian Hi...
03/20/2025

A little over a week ago, I had the opportunity to represent Haskell Indian Nations University at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), where I competed in the speech and Ms. AIHEC competitions. After two rounds of interviews and leaving feeling that I represented myself to the best of my ability, I was honored with the title of Ms. AIHEC 2025-2026. My achievement would not have been possible without the support of my family and friends, and I wanted to give a special thank you to a few individuals in particular.
Firstly, I would like to thank Creator for blessing me with the opportunity to represent all tribal colleges and universities on a national level.
To my Choctaw and Potawatomi community, I will always be grateful for instilling in me the importance of learning our ways and language and providing me with the ability to share our teachings.
Haskell community, thank you for remaining resilient throughout these tough times and providing a strong support system for our students. Onward Haskell!
Robin and Jeremy Shield, thank you for not only convincing me to run for Ms. AIHEC but also stepping into the role of pageant mom and dad.
Amanda Moreno Young, the countless hours you spent over 12 years developing my skills and reminding me not to have a dead fish face are still paying off today. You will always be a part of our family.
Finally, Mom, thank you for the last-minute interview practice and for reminding me of my skills and that I know what I am doing. Your words of encouragement are what put me at ease as I walked into my second interview.
That said, if you would like to stay updated on my reign, you can follow .AIHEC on Instagram and like the 2025-2026 Ms. AIHEC page on Facebook.

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