Festive balloons and golden stars, along with red, white and yellow ribbons and hearty smiles, filled the Salt River Community Building on Sept. 20.

Roughly one year ago, SRPMIC member and Arizona State University student Sialik King was crowned the 2025-2026 Miss Indian Arizona. Now, as she prepares to hand the crown to the next Queen of Indigenous Arizona, King was celebrated and showered with well-wishes and support during her Farewell Community Celebration.

The event began at 5 p.m. with the cu:dk/chiyer. Similarly, royalty queens from across Indian Country visited with King as well as many of the guests and attendees. Songs, dances and laughter filled the building as King’s parents, Kyland King and Cynde Claw King, ensured the night’s meal and other matters ran smoothly.

The festivities continued throughout the night. King was joined by many former royalty members for the O’odham Giveaway Dance. During the dance, most people had their eyes on the Halloween arts and crafts decoration King had in her possession. When it was time for people to claim the prize, King, barefoot and all, playfully scurried a few laps around the singing circle before officially handing out the gift prize.

When it was time to say a few words, King, as she always does, spoke from the heart.

“It’s been an amazing year. It feels like it was just yesterday [when I was crowned],” shared King during her speech. “When I was younger, I never thought in a million years that I would run for the Miss Indian Arizona title. As I reflect on the past year, I think about all the things I learned—not only about myself, but about our beautiful state and all the strong people who live in it.”

During her speech, King reiterated the importance of community, including the togetherness she feels with the 22 tribes in Arizona. King also shared that she relied on her “sash sisters” and continues to remain close with them as her reign as Miss Indian Arizona nears its completion.

“We are more than our smiles and our crowns,” said King during her speech. “We are ambassadors and representations of our homes and people.”

Ms. and Mr. Indigenous Arizona State University Candice Joe and Zach Thomas, Miss Gila River Eliana Rhodes, and Miss San Carlos Apache Kylie Kenton were some of the royalty members attending King’s celebration.

King expressed her gratitude to all the mentors who have helped her along her journey thus far, including those in the Community who helped her prepare her pageant career when she ran for Jr. Miss Salt River a decade ago.

As her speech neared its conclusion, King saved her deepest appreciation for her parents. “Without them and their unwavering support in everything I do, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. This title is as much theirs as it is mine,” she said.

To perfectly cap off her reign as the 64th Miss Indian Arizona, King sang the traditional song “Something Rising from the Center of the Earth.”

“It’s only right that I end here today with the same song that has carried me for 10 years across three different crowns,” she said.

King invited people to join in and began singing the song by herself while at the lectern. Moments later, nearly everyone inside the Community Building joined King in singing.

Later in the celebration and before guests packed the dance floor to strut their stuff to the tunes of Molina Music, King was showered with gifts and well-wishes from the Miss Indian Arizona Committee.

Though emotions ran high during the farewell celebration, the tears that fell Sunday night were of the joyful and celebratory kind. King’s photo-ready smile was well on display all evening as she was showered with love and support as she embarks on the next chapter of her journey.

It truly was a celebration fit for a Queen.