Wilkinson boasted that BYU had largest American Indian student population at a private university in the United States. BYU couldn't verify Wilkinson's number on Wednesday, but it is fact that American Indian enrollment at BYU has nose-dived to 167 students — a meager one half of 1 percent of the total student body.

That larger trend might have impacted the pageant. As the reigning Miss Indian BYU, Smith was in charge of recruiting contestants.

"I e-mailed every single female American Indian student at BYU," she said. "I called every American Indian girl I knew. I was trying to recruit girls since fall."

She managed to find seven contestants for a pageant that requires at least five. The demanding qualifications were also an issue. Contestants had to prove during the pageants they could share their tribe's culture. Talk pointed to two requirements that caused this year's trouble — that the women be club members and perform 50 hours of community service. Talk felt strongly about them, but she said they were different from last year and caused confusion.

When the club council reviewed the applications, Talk said they found that weren't club members and some hadn't completed the service hours.

The council decided to cancel the pageant two weeks before it was scheduled and instead host a cultural showcase. Several of the seven were upset by the decision because of the work they had done to prepare. The club later canceled the showcase, too, because of a lack of applicants.

"I was the one trying to stick up for having (a pageant)," said Smith, who sat on the club council. "But I support their decision. I admire all of them and our adviser, and I think of them as my friends."

The Miss Indian BYU pageant took a year off in 1986 and suffered a longer hiatus from 1991-2000. The 38th Miss Indian BYU hopes another year off won't end the tradition.

"It wasn't just having a crown, it was having this opportunity to serve and share cultures and that unique Native American heritage with others," she said. "It allowed you to have the opportunity you wouldn't always have or take.

"For me as a Latter-day Saint, we are all children of the same spiritual father. We're all human beings with the same humanity. The pageant wasn't just spotlighting American Indians and putting a crown on this beautiful Native American woman, but it dispelled a lot of stereotypes that exist to this day."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com