A young Chickasaw woman wears a beaded orange crown, a blue dress and a pageant sash. She waves and smiles. — Accounting and finance student Cydnee Miller waves to the audience as the newly crowned Miss American Indian OSU.

Spears Business student Miller honors family as Miss American Indian OSU

Monday, June 9, 2025

Media Contact: Hallie Hart | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-1050 | hallie.hart@okstate.edu

Cydnee Miller found inspiration in her grandmother’s life.

The woman affectionately known as “Mamaw” taught Miller about Chickasaw Nation traditions, from playing stickball to speaking the Chickasaw language to cooking fry bread and grape dumplings.

As an Oklahoma State University junior, Miller competed in the Mr. and Miss American Indian OSU pageant in her grandmother’s memory.

“Coming into this year, I lost my Mamaw, and that was one of the driving factors behind me wanting to run,” Miller said. “She never really shied away from embracing who she was as a Chickasaw woman.”

Now, Miller is embracing her role as Miss American Indian OSU. Miller, an accounting and finance double major from Ada, Oklahoma, earned the honor and a $1,000 scholarship in April. She will hold her title alongside Jaden Waters, Mr. American Indian OSU, until spring 2026.

Miller talked to the Spears School of Business about her leadership as an OSU student and Chickasaw Nation member.

Jaden Waters and Cydnee Miller, Mr. and Miss American Indian OSU, pose for an outdoor photo. — From left: Cydnee Miller poses with Mr. American Indian OSU Jaden Waters, meets Mr. OSU Anthony McNeal and speaks on stage at the Mr. and Miss American Indian OSU pageant.

Miss American Indian OSU Cydnee Miller shakes hands with Mr. OSU Anthony McNeal. — From left: Cydnee Miller poses with Mr. American Indian OSU Jaden Waters, meets Mr. OSU Anthony McNeal and speaks on stage at the Mr. and Miss American Indian OSU pageant.

Q: What did the pageant involve?

Our introductions are really quick and simple. You tell who you are, where you’re from, what tribe you are and your platform for the year. Then, you do your talent portion. Talking is something I naturally prefer to do, so I told a traditional story of how poison came to be. Then, you have two random questions. They varied from, “What’s a program your tribe offers to tribal citizens and noncitizens?”, all the way to, “What’s your favorite cultural activity?”

We did have an interview portion earlier that day, and that was a lot more in-depth, with 12 questions for 25 minutes. All in all, I thought it was a great and fun experience.

How did you choose the regalia to wear?

Luckily, I have a cousin who works for the cultural department for the Chickasaw Nation. A lot of times, they wear traditional regalia, so she was like, “I have tons of dresses. Here, I pulled this one; I think it will work for you.” It does have orange in it, so it’s a little bit on theme with OSU. I tried it on and absolutely loved it. The only thing that was a set was the dress and my white silk apron. My mom beaded my earrings last minute, and then we reached out to another family friend about the belt. I’m really glad, in pictures, it came together.

What does your platform of mental wellness among Native Americans mean to you?

I love coming to a school that really does value their students’ mental health, because that is a huge issue on every college campus. Then, the more I was home, I talked to my friends that went to other colleges, and they said, “My college doesn’t offer anything like that.” It made me realize the conversation around mental health has grown in recent years, but as far as reaching out and educating students on what they can do to help their mental health, there hasn’t been a ton of progress. It’s hard being away from your family and coming to college. You’re trying to find yourself and also balancing going to class, doing your homework, studying for exams.

I really wanted a platform that was going to help improve their mental health but also keep Native American students involved with their culture. My main goal for the year is to help others with activities they can do that aren’t going to cost a lot – that they can either do in groups or by themselves – that still keep them connected to their culture, whether it be learning how to bead earrings, making a ribbon skirt or playing stickball. Luckily, my family and I have a huge involvement within stickball. I’m grateful that in the Native American Student Association (NASA) this year, there’s a ton of interest in playing stickball. So, I’m wanting to focus on the physical activity side of mental health this year. When I get my body moving and I exercise, I feel 10 times better. I just really want to focus on spreading awareness about mental health, what you can do to help combat struggles and knowing that you’re not alone in your fight.

Are there any other campus activities you would like to highlight?

I’m in three organizations: NASA, Women in Business and Beta Alpha Psi honor society. I’ve learned a lot from the Women in Business organization, mainly because it’s a full community of women in Spears and we all have the same goals; we want to be successful women in business. And then, Beta Alpha Psi, being an organization that is accounting and finance-focused, we’re able to talk to different recruiters.

What has been your favorite Spears Business class?

Going into my tax class, I heard tax is super hard. I never really considered being a tax accountant, but that class is really interesting. That’s probably been my favorite class.

Other than tax with Steven Crall, maybe Intermediate Accounting II. You’re doing your debits and credits; you’re doing your adjusting journal entries. I had professor Michael Wolfe for that class.

What was your role during your two internships with the Chickasaw Nation Department of Treasury?

My first year, I rotated through almost all of their different departments. About every two weeks, I moved to a different group. I went through accounts payable, their traditional accounting department, and then financial audit and reporting, and tax.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to sit with just their accounting division and their financial audit and reporting. I was able to go through the Nation’s financial statements, and I actually got to help on some of their monthly reports and sit in on some of their huge monthly meetings. It was really insightful to get to see what my tribe does financially, where the funds go, and then to be able to look through all the financial statements and come full circle – this is why we’re learning this in class; this is how it relates to an actual career.

This summer, I am returning with the Chickasaw Nation, but I won’t be with the treasury department. I will be with their internal audit and reporting, so hopefully, after this summer, I can fully narrow down what it is I want to do.