Beulah Melvin Allen
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Beulah Melvin Allen (born July 19, 1937) was a Diné physician. In 1952, at the age of 23, she was the first Miss Navajo Nation.


Life

Beulah Margaret Melvin was born in
Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt Ba ...
on July 19, 1937, moving with her family at 18 months old to
Fort Defiance, Arizona Fort Defiance ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. It is also located within the Navajo Nation. The population was 3,624 at the 2010 census. History The land on which Fort Defiance was eventu ...
on the
Navajo Reservation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...
. Her mother was a nurse at the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital. In 7th grade, she moved to California and stayed there until she finished high school. In 1952, Melvin was selected as Miss Navajo at the annual Navajo Nation Fair. At the time, the competition was determined by whichever contestant received the largest applause. Starting in 1954, she attended
Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
, planning to study there for two years. In 1955, she attended Arizona State College, and in 1956, she spent her junior year at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
. She attended Cornell Medical College in 1958 and 1959, receiving a Navajo Tribal scholarship to attend both years. In 1961, she graduated from
The University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. Th ...
with a bachelor's degree in
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
. On November 14, 1969, Beulah married Richard N. Allen in Contra Costa, California. She received a fellowship to attend the
University of Arizona College of Medicine A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, graduating around the early 1980s. In 1981, she won the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Merit Award.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Beulah Melvin Living people 1937 births 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians Native American physicians Navajo Nation people 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women