Judges of the annual Miss Navajo Nation contest found 23-year-old Radmilla Cody to be the best example of Navajo life and culture. The daughter of a Navajo mother and an African-American father, Cody is the first biracial Miss Navajo.

It is Cody's African-American "features" that have prompted controversy. In a letter published in the Navajo Nation newspaper, The Navajo Times, a member of the tribe lashed out at the judges' choice of Cody as Miss Navajo.

"Miss Cody's appearance and physical characteristics are clearly black and are thus representative of another race of people," Orlando Tom, of the Navajo Community of Blue Gap in Arizona wrote after Cody took the title.

Tom said tribal members who are of mixed race are a threat to the future of the tribe.

Tom described Coty as "a very pretty black lady," and suggested Cody focus on her African-American heritage and stay out of Navajo affairs.