Emma Spotted Horse is an 11th grader at Free State High School.

Shelby Dalgai-Neagle is an 11th grader at Free State High School.

Krystin Arkeketa is an 11th grader at Lawrence High School.

Taylor Williams is a 10th grader at Lawrence High School.

The public is invited to attend the Miss Indian Youth of Lawrence pageant, set for Thursday evening at South Junior High School.

Four students will compete in several categories: contemporary talent, traditional talent, personality, evening gown, essay and answer to an impromptu question.

The event is set for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the cafeteria at South, 2734 La. There is no charge to attend, and refreshments will be served.

Marlene Bad Warrior, bookkeeper at Lawrence High School, started the pageant three years ago as a way to promote positive awareness of American Indian youths, and to help students in the Lawrence school district better understand where they come from and where they’re going.

“A lot of Native American youth are very separated from their culture,” said Bad Warrior, herself crowned in 1998 as Miss Indian Youth of Flagstaff, Ariz. “A lot of them don’t know their language anymore. There’s just a big gap, right there. My primary goal was to get them proud of who they are again.”

The contestants:

• Krystin Arkeketa, a junior at LHS and member of the Kiowa and Delaware tribes.

• Shelby Dalgai-Neagle, a junior at Free State High School and member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

• Emma Spotted Horse, a junior at Free State and member of the Cheyenne Arapaho, United Keetowah Band of Cherokee, and Pima tribes. She also is known as Emma Washee.

• Taylor Williams, a sophomore at LHS and a member of the United Keetowah Band of Cherokee, Cheyenne, and Kiowa tribes.

The pageant is on Facebook, too.