Last weekend, the current reigning Miss International Two Spirit – Spirit Wildcat (Shoshone/Bannock), made an appearance at the 5th Annual BAAITS Two Spirit Powwow in San Francisco, California. I caught up with her for a quick interview:
Please introduce yourself!
Good morning, Afternoon, Evening.
My name is Spirit Wildcat, I'm the current reigning Miss International Two-Spirit XVII. I am from Fort Hall, Idaho and an enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. My parents are Larry & Sonya Wadsworth both of Fort Hall, Idaho.
How did you get started in the Pageant world?
How I got started was when my mother asked if I would like to run for the title of Mr. Indian Day Brave back in 1998. It was very exciting to be able to get up in front of the native community and speak, during that time in my life I was a grass dancer and when the time came for the announcement of the winners many of the elders did express to my mother that they had no doubts that I would be picked for the title. That was my first ever title I won.
After that in secret I decided to run for the title of Miss Pridaho #5 during Pocatello, Idaho's Gay Pride and won, my first thoughts that went threw my head when they announced my name as the winner was, “oh snaps what did I get myself into” . Representing the LGBT community was awesome it was my chance to fully engage myself into the Pocatello, Idaho., gay community. The next title that I tried out for was Miss Gay Idaho, I ran two years in a row and only walked away with just Miss Congeniality.
After that I took time away from the pageant world to and decided to be happy with things in my life but after attending the Montana Two-Spirit Society Gathering in 2014 I walked away with Montana's first Miss Montana Two-Spirit title, then next was Miss International Two-Spirit 2016.
Why do you think its important to have a, “Miss International Two Spirit” , or any other Two Spirit title?
Having the, “Miss International Two-Spirit” , title carries great importance for our Two-Spirit people. We may be still in our early stages of having the title holders fully emerge themselves into the powwow circle but with time and strong hearts our Two-Spirit community will not have fear attending any powwow and dancing to the different styles their hearts are in. And with any Two-Spirit title holders, we are that first step to open the doors for our Two-Spirit people.
What kind of experiences have you had so far and what are you future plans for the rest of your reign?
All of my experiences have been positive, nothing negative, during powwows the little princesses come up to me and have many questions, I am happy to answer but one thing is, I become an aunty to these little princesses, to other titles holders I become an older sister but in my case, Aunty Spirit.
For the rest of my reign I hope to attend more events, such as Gathering of Nations Powwow, a few college and school powwows and more Two-Spirit gatherings and prides events.
Please list 5 things people don't know about you!
– I enjoy eating pizza everyday.
– On weekends I just relax and become a hermit in my room.
– When my reign ends, I plan on taking a year off from dancing.
– I enjoy talking with elders and hearing their stories.
– I'm a big day dreamer.
You can find Spirit Wildcat on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/spirit.wildcat
