The Miss Indian America pageant was the grand finale of the three-day annual All- American Indian Days. Sheridan car dealers, restaurant owners, fraternal organizations, and other local benefactors funded the event. The gathering drew on average over 4,000 American Indians from more than sixty different tribes to Sheridan.  Each year began with a parade that featured American Indians and local Sheridan organizations.  Art competitions, foot races and other athletic events, dances, tepee-building competitions, and a prayer service filled the days. 

 

The AAID grew into an important annual political gathering for Indians from across the country. Vine Deloria, Sr., Vine Deloria, Jr., presidents of the National Congress of American Indians, and the authors D’Arcy McNickle and N. Scott Momaday were just some of the Indian activists who came to Sheridan to organize for Indian causes. The town won national awards because of its mission to promote inter-racial understanding and support Indian self-determination. Some Indians were dubious about the goals and intentions of AAID and MIA, and felt the town used them for its own gain.  And while it certainly did not eradicate racism, enough Indians believed in the cause and the Sheridan community to keep the event going for thirty years.