"Let's Celebrate!" Powwow with the Warm Springs

Attending the Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days Powwow in Warm Springs Oregon, was very important and special to me. This year’s Miss Warm Springs, had come up to Yakama Nation Treaty Days Powwow and was there at the Pageant when I was crowned. She’s a strong leader for her people, and she offered very kindly to give our family room to stay at her family’s house! We had such a wonderful time staying at her Ulla’s (grandma on her dad’s side) house. During our stay, I learned that our Ulla’s are actually good friends! Our grandparents worked together to establish the Veteran’s Programs for Indian Country nationwide. It was such a warm feeling talking with Charlotte (her Ulla) and hearing her stories about the Warm Springs and all the amazing things she did in her life.

Sister Tribes!

Throughout the Powwow, Tamera and I had a great time together as well. I got acquainted with her court, as we stood in line to welcome the people. We had a great time tag-teaming the crowd as we strategized and coordinated shaking hands with the tumultuous crowd. It had been a few year since I’ve attended Pi-Ume-Sha and I thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality and seeing my parents reunite with old friends and introduce me to them. The Powwow highlight for me was watching the Team Women’s Shell dance. It was close, and I got to see Tamera’s team face off against an older women’s team (no pun intended). The other team won by just a hair! It was all good though, our other friend, Katrina Walsey was with them and we congratulated them on their win. That night Tamera and I danced Exhibition and had fun as her dad, Captain, loudly announced our motives (he was MC’ing) as we sneaked off stage for the judging.

Exhibition dancing with past and present royalty.

Lol in short…Pi-Ume-Sha, or "Let's Celebrate" definitely lived up to its reputation. :)

Crazy pretty clouds.

Honoring our Graduates with Clear Sky Native Youth Council

I live in Seattle, and for the past 3 years, my family and I have been involved in the Seattle Clear Sky Native Youth Council, a youth tutoring/cultural program for Native students here in Seattle. We do tutoring, provide mentoring for these students, who come from different schools from across Seattle Public School District. I graduated from the Seattle Public School District and it was hard for me culturally because I had just moved from Yakama Reservation and that transition was like jumping into cold water. But, now I’m a student at University of Washington and I want to make sure that I’m giving back to other kids who are struggling through high school in a city where they’re just a number. One of our biggest events is our “Honoring our Graduates” ceremony at the end of the school year where we invite various students to come and be recognized for their achievements through another year of school.

           

Hooray for our youth!!

It was a pleasant shock when Sarah Sense-Wilson, the head parent and good family friend to us, approached me with the request the students had made for the Student Guest Speaker. We held our Graduation at the Indian Heritage High School, a school that has a history of serving Native students—the campus buildings are covered in beautiful paintings and murals that establish a strong Native presence. I was humbled and excited for this opportunity because education is something I’m very passionate about and I know it’s a hard road for our Native students; they have to walk in two worlds and bring the best part of who they are back and forth. But also, I had just been crowned Miss Yakama Nation, so this was one of my first ‘gigs’ so to speak.

Public Speaking

It made me feel very proud and excited to see so many kids come to be recognized. My friend Angelo Baca brought his students from Big Sky High School, and kids from all corners of Seattle from middle school to high school were there. We had a luncheon, and our other speakers included “NDN’s for Justice” Millie Kennedy and her protégé my friend Patricia Allen. Our elder Alice Too said a few words of course, while Robert Fredricksen aka Ravenspeaker, MC’d the event.

As the presenters, we were gifted with a print!

I’m very passionate about teaching our kids that they can use their heritage and culture to make a difference in the world. Knowing who I am as a Yakama is what got me through my identity issues in high school, and I know there’s so much to keep learning and discovering about myself and my people. Native kids struggle with their identity in so many ways, and when we can come together to celebrate what our young ones have done, it’s good medicine that rubs off on us. 

Chief Joseph Warriors & Memorial Powwow!!

Since the early 70’s and late 80’s, the descendants of the Chief Joseph have been holding a Powwow to commemorate and honor the sacrifice of their ancestors. I personally also have Nee-Mi-Poo relations and it was very important to my family that we be in attendance at this Powwow to not only to respect the historical alliance between the Palouse and the Nee-Mi-Poo, but to honor our family and relations in Nez Perce country.

Attending this Powwow was a very special event. I was very excited to hear what was going to be shared and there was reconnecting with old family members and many introductions. The community spoke a lot about the history of the Nez Perce Wars and the historic “Run” they had with the United States government. This was mostly refreshing because for once I got to hear the history from the Nee-Mi-Poo themselves and not a biased textbook or film. The focus of the Powwow was on commemorating the sacrifice and challenges of our ancestors and taking that with us into the future. A giveaway from the descendents of Chief Joseph was the highlight of the evening. As the only representing royalty, there was a lot of gratitude from the community for my attendance. I was asked to speak and I expressed very sincerely my appreciation for being there to represent the Yakama Nation and I encouraged the young ones to pay attention to what was being said that evening. I exhorted them that the schools will try to paint a different history but that you must know who you are and that knowledge will give you strength to overcome adversity and the lies some non-natives would have us believe about ourselves.

The following morning, there was a brunch held at the Community Center prior to Grand Entry and it was my pleasure to shake hands with the early risers. There was a Wa’Shut Song sang, and a prayer held. To my surprise, my aunt Sophia Hunt, requested that I wear a dress that her daughter ,Ida, had been working on for her senior project in high school. It was a very beautiful dentalium shell dress and I wore it proudly. I gave my card to a woman who worked with the Head Start Program for the Nez Perce. I was surprised later, when the MC announced that a representative from Yakama had not attended their Powwow in some time and that they wanted to honor me. I was given a shawl and thanked for my words the previous night. 

First Powwow as Miss Yakama Nation!!

Every year for the past forty one years, the Delta Park Powwow is held in Portland Oregon. At this year’s Powwow, time was taken to honor the many veterans who have sacrificed for their country and their families. It was my honor to represent the Yakama Nation at this event.

           

Due to a time conflict between this Powwow and the Chief Joseph & Warriors Powwow, I was only able to attend Delta Park for the evening session. Nonetheless, it was truly a wonderful session and an honor to shake hands with the Elders and the Veterans that were recognized. The Powwow Committee was very kind to me and allowed me to change into my regalia in their RV parked right outside the dancing arena. I met with Celeste Whitewolf, who was tabling as a vendor from an organization called, Native People’s Circle of Hope. Their national organization is a coalition of cancer survivors and support group whose mission is to “help the survivor, their family members, and caregivers understand that they are not alone.” She has strong interests in starting a Circle of Hope Chapter with the Yakama Men’s Group and really cares about our people.

Prior to Grand Entry, I registered and was shaking hands with the Committee members at the podium when I was promptly asked to say a few words. Of course I agreed and briefly introduced myself and thanked the Committee and everyone for attending the Powwow. Later I spoke again during the Grand Entry, and this gave me an opportunity to address the Veterans more specifically. I was able to thank them directly and was able to encourage the young ones to pay attention to the stories of their ancestors and the warriors who fought to keep them safe. Later in the evening, I asked Miss Warm Springs to accompany me in shaking the hands of the Elders. We shook hands with nearly all the Elders in the bleachers and were thanked by many for our words spoken during the Grand Entry.

With fellow Royatly!

This was a beautiful event and I really appreciated the unexpected surprise of being able to speak twice because I was able to address the Veterans the second time. I liked being able to speak more personally and from the heart the second time because I really do believe that the sacrifice of not only our past warriors, but our modern day ones deserves some attention and respect. 

Indian Heritage High School '11 Graduation!!

I was asked to be a Guest Speaker at the Indian Heritage High School Graduation. Indian Heritage High School is a school in Seattle Washington where many students struggle with the same issues as our youth do on the Reservation. In urban areas, Native people can be from Tribes all across the country which makes their ability to find their culture particularly unique and troublesome. But for some time now, my family and I have had the wonderful opportunity to network with the teachers Robin Wilson and Principal Cindy Nash to find ways to bring cultural support to these students. We have had tutoring sessions and conducted prayers and sang honor songs and smudging ceremonies.

At this graduation, many of these students were in attendance. There were six graduates (five are pictured) which is a testament to their hard work and perseverance. It was held at Daybreak Star in Seattle Washington, the place of the historic Takeover at Fort Lawton. I addressed parents, graduates, and notable educators from the Seattle Public School District. I acknowledged the land of Duwamish and thanked Indian Heritage High School for having me. In my speech I discussed the importance of pursuing higher education and commended the parents on their support in their children. I spoke about the struggles of our Native students on the Reservation but also about our successes. I spoke about how our children need to find the support they need in the face of adversity. Afterward, my dad gave the opening prayer and we proceeded with the Commencement. 

The best part was hearing all the students thank their families and God for getting them that far in life. These students come from very humble backgrounds and have had to struggle with addiction, poverty, and family issues to get their Diploma. I was very proud and honored to have been able to address them as a representative of the Yakama Nation.