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Around the Nation
5:58 am
Sat September 8, 2012

Forget The Heels: What It Takes To Be Miss Navajo

Credit Laurel Morales for NPR
Miss Navajo contestants must work in teams to butcher sheep. From left, Wallitta Begay, Leandra "Abby" Thomas and Charlene Goodluck had to cut the sheep's throat, remove the stomach and quarter the carcass.
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Originally published on Sat September 8, 2012 12:41 pm

The Miss Navajo contest is not your typical beauty pageant. Instead of swimsuits and high heels, you get turquoise and moccasins. One of the talent competitions is butchering sheep, and speaking Navajo is a must.

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Around the Nation
6:57 pm
Tue July 10, 2012

Tensions Rise With Plan To Flood Grand Canyon

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Credit Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey
Power companies say the last high flow through the Glen Canyon Dam, in 2008, cost almost $4 million in lost revenue.
Credit Laurel Morales / Arizona Public Radio
Rafting groups through the Grand Canyon often have difficulty finding sandy banks on which to set up camp. The Interior Department has approved a series of controlled floods to help restore the riverbank ecosystem.
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Originally published on Tue July 10, 2012 9:56 pm

The Colorado River is about to run wild through the Grand Canyon again — at least a couple of times a year.

For almost five decades, the Glen Canyon Dam on the mighty Colorado in northern Arizona has caused many of the beaches downriver to slowly erode. Many have disappeared altogether.

The Interior Department hopes to change that. Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a series of simulated floods that will release huge amounts of water and sediment from the Glen Canyon Dam.

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