SNI Fall Festival 50th Celebration

Return of Lil Miss Fall Festival Showcase

A New Season, A New Vision

By Alyssa Coustenis, Reporter

After nearly 20 years, Lil Miss Fall Festival Showcase is back – with a refreshed focus on growth, learning, and belonging. This program centers on team building, cultural awareness, and confidence, in a joyful and supportive environment. There’s no competition, no pageantry -just opportunities to connect, create, and celebrate each girl’s unique spirit.

Every girl who participates receives recognition, not for how she looks, but for her effort, her willingness to learn, and her role in helping team building activities. Participation, helpfulness, respectful behavior, and pride in oneself are celebrated equally.

At the heart of the program are the girls themselves. For 5 weeks starting in August, participants have gathered for hands-on lessons that blend life skills and culturally rooted discussion classes. They learn how to introduce themselves in the Seneca language, create traditional cornhusk dolls, practice beadwork, explore the woods on a medicine walk, and even try their hand at cooking in traditional ways. Alongside these activities, they build confidence rehearsing introductions, a walk-and-wave, and an ASL group song that will be part of their Fall Festival showcase.

Lil Miss is more than a program, but also a commitment. Teaching that leadership comes with responsibility. Each young lady is held to standards that reflect what it means to be a leader in the community. The girls pledge to treat others with respect, avoid bullying, and carry themselves with dignity both in person and online.

Girls who join the program will have the opportunity to take part in year-round community engagement as Lil Miss representatives. They will host events/classes for the community and attend Nation events.

They are expected to represent their families and the Nation with pride, avoiding harmful behavior and showing kindness to people of all ages. Showing the girls that being a positive role model is not just about what you say in class, but how you carry yourself every day.

This revival would not have been possible without the women who saw its value and worked to bring it back. After two decades, Stephanie Stafford, Karly Stafford, Courtney John-Jemison, Shavonne Stevens, and Erika Stevens took the lead in rebuilding the foundation of the program.

Their commitment honors the vision of past mentors such as Mary Jacobs and Lisa Kettle, who guided the program years ago. Together, their work ensures that a new generation of girls can experience what Lil Miss has always been about, celebrating confidence, community, and culture.

Parents, aunties, grandmothers and other community members also play a vital role to keep the program moving strong. Every donation is greatly appreciated, whether it’s donating your time, knowledge, food or money. It all goes toward providing the girls with tools and skills they can use to succeed here and beyond. It’s all a part of the legwork for even greater things to come.

Stephanie Stafford said that it feels full circle for the program to come back. Being a past participant and winner herself, she understands the negative side that came from competing against one another, and the unclear expectations from the past pageant concept. Along with community feedback, the changes made towards a new angle and more focus on participation is already yielding positive results.

She has seen the girls grow since the program started. Each week they become more confident in themselves, more connected to their culture, and more willing to step into leadership roles. They encourage all to share their cultural knowledge & experience (in their own way) in these upcoming months. If you have something in mind don’t hesitate to reach out.

These experiences go beyond shared knowledge, crafts and classes. They’re lessons in confidence, teamwork, and responsibility. Every session builds developmental and cultural awareness, identity and pride, helping to prepare the next generation of Seneca women to be leaders in their community. By creating a safe space to learn culture, language, and responsibility, Lil Miss plants seeds that will grow into strong, confident voices for the future.

Lil Miss Fall Festival Showcase will take place on SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2025 following the Fashion Show at the Saylor at 5PM.
2nd Annual Every Child Matters Wear Orange Youth Smoke Dance Special will take place on SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2025 following the FF Smoke Dance Contest.

There will be a Fall Festival Alumni Dinner on Friday, September 12th at the CCC, starting at 6pm. See flyer below for details.