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Date Posted: Sun, 07/13/03 7:36am
Author: Bella
Subject: Re: Cheering news, article about Kiowascout on Indianz.com news
In reply to: Caseyngeneva 's message, "Re: Cheering news, article about Kiowascout on Indianz.com news" on Sat, 07/12/03 7:45am

>grrrr...couldn't find the article. I sure hope it
>goes well. She has MY vote....okay, I'm not a judge,
>but I'm certainly rooting for her!!
>
>Kathy

Tried to copy this over for you last night Kathy, but it failed. I hope it doesn't breach ndnz.com copyright putting it here:). The article appeared on their news site on 9 July, I see Kiowascout also got a mention on In The Hoop this week:)

Kiowa woman in running for Ms. Wheelchair America
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2003
Cinda Hughes, a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, is in the running for the Ms. Wheelchair America pageant.
Hughes, 41, won the Oklahoma state pageant and is the only Native American competing in the national contest, The Native American Times reports. "There have been lots of obstacles and lots of challenges, but I realized there are two choices I can make regarding this journey. I can be bitter or I can use it as a means of teaching others about empathy and fair play," she tells the paper.
Hughes was born with a birth defect that left her a quadriplegic. She works for the Oklahoma Legislature as a receptionist.
The national contest will be held July 22-27 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Wheelchair bound Kiowa woman still stands tall
Educates and forgives

OKLAHOMA CITY OK
SAM LEWIN 7/8/2003





If there is anybody in the world who has a reason to complain, it’s Cinda Hughes, the 41-year-old woman has been in a wheelchair her entire life, born with a birth defect that left her a quadriplegic, meaning she does not have use of her arms or legs. The most expensive doctors and the most advanced therapy will never change that.

Think she’s angry with her lot in life? Think again.

“ There have been lots of obstacles and lots of challenges, but I realized there are two choices I can make regarding this journey. I can be bitter or I can use it as a means of teaching others about empathy and fair play,” Hughes said.

She credits her Kiowa grandparents with instilling this attitude. She says they gave her purpose and meaning.

“ They were very spiritual people. My grandfather said there was a reason for my life and it was to show what people with disabilities can do.”

She took the advice literally, speaking out and educating a society ignorant about the issue. She recently won the Ms. Wheelchair Oklahoma contest. The national pageant is in Des Moines, Iowa later this month. She’ll be the only Native American in the contest, once again cast in the role of outsider and filling the job of educator.

Hughes says statistics show only 3 percent of people with handicaps are employed. She thinks that news will come as a surprise to people conditioned to believe everything they see on TV.

“ I think by and large people have a cursory kind of knowledge. They see people with disabilities in Wal-Mart and the mall, but they don’t know anyone like that personally.”

She thinks a change in attitudes and the passage of discrimination laws made life easier for people like herself. She can still recall the unpleasant memories experienced while growing up in Anadarko.

“ As a child I was greeted with a lot of negativity, but things have changed.”

Hughes is employed as a receptionist for the state senate in Oklahoma City. She has also worked as a radio host and was active in debate classes in school, but it’s obvious the Ms. Wheelchair America Program is her calling. The winner is expected to travel, meet with lawmakers and make numerous media appearances. Right up her alley.

“ I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to change popular misconceptions about females in wheelchairs and disabilities as a whole.”

Just like her grandparents taught her.

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