“On Thursday, past Miss Winona and current Miss Minnesota Rachel Evangelisto will take her shot at becoming the next Miss America. Evangelisto has already made history, however, as the first Native American to be crowned Miss Minnesota. She’s one of only a few Miss Winonas to wear the North Star State’s crown and sash in the Winona program’s 76-year history, and she’s making the most of her new platform.

Evangelisto was used to being on stage, but the sudden notoriety of being named Miss Minnesota in June was something else. “It’s absolutely life-changing,” she said. “It changed very quickly overnight. I think the first month — I’ll be entirely honest — I was so overwhelmed because this is one of the highest turnover jobs. There’s a new person every year, and there’s no training. No one is walking through everything you’ve got to do. You have to figure it out.” She added, “I had to take a little bit of a break from social media just to kind of get my bearings with what was happening, but as soon as I sort of found my footing, I really took off with it.”

Since then, Miss Minnesota has been traveling across the state for parades and gatherings. Evangelisto was in Winona this fall at a Winona Senior High School football game and the Winona State University Homecoming Parade, as well as a Miss Winona event wishing her luck on the upcoming national contest. “I love going to communities and getting to be a part of it for a day,” she said. “I think probably the coolest events I’ve done so far, definitely for me, have been powwows that I have been invited to.”

Evangelisto is halfway through her goal of visiting all 11 of Minnesota’s Indigenous nations, and one of her most memorable experiences was at the Tinta Winta Wacipi (wa chee pee) at Prairie Island Indian Community. “It was the first time any Indigenous person ever got to take the crown and sash into the sacred circle,” Evangelisto said, referring to the center of the wacipi’s grand entry, where only dancers, elders, veterans, and respected figures are allowed. “It was also the first time I had ever been in one, and I just remember feeling so much gratitude and joy that I got to be the first person to do that. I remember crying the entire time. It was very, very emotional. But I think it was the culmination of everything I have worked so hard for.”