Honoring our Veteran's at Camp Chapparal

I was invited by our Veterans Program to attend their annual Veteran’s Camp at Camp Chapparal. It’s very meaningful for my family and I that I attend because my Pusha (grandfather on my dad’s side) was a Master Gunner Sergeant in the Korean War; he was one of the first Native Americans to hold rank over white soldiers. His work with our Tribe and with Indian Country has been dedicated to honoring our warriors who fight to protect our families, culture and way of life. This Veteran’s Camp is part of his legacy and the legacy of the way we honor our warriors. At this camp, veterans from all over the country would also be attending, and many of them are non-native. But in spite of this, they are joined together in their journey for healing. There are cultural aspects to the week-long camp session; Prayer, Traditional Sweats, and Talking Circles. Because of the diverse veterans in attendance, I was there to share with them a bit of Yakama.

 I had the wonderful honor of performing the Welcome Dance. It’s a social dance, performed only by women. It’s symbolic of welcoming family by the setting out of a large feast or gathering. Young girls learn about this dance, I myself learned it at a young age. This dance, I explained demonstrated how connected Indian tribes were to each other, politically, economically and culturally because we Yakamas actually received this dance from the Tulalip Tribes. There was already strong trade and cross cultural exchange between tribes, even before white contact. (Another example comes from the Makah who have a war song they recieved from the Yakama.) I explained that it’s important that when dances and songs are sung that we acknowledge their origin and maintain protocol when sharing them. This is how we respect and honor the reasons for why they are given, and pass them onto our children.

I was honored to be part of this camp, to be in the presence of so many men and women, warriors, from all over who were visiting our land to find healing and the community support they deserve. Our veterans sacrifice so much, for their families, for their country, for everyone. I'd like to thank the Veterans Program and Warriors Association for allowing me to share the culture and lives of the people they’ve helped to protect. It was a very special blessing to me.

Indigenous Days at the Seattle Center!

A big thank you to Marc Taylor of the Seattle Indian Health Board who invited me to participate in this year’s 2^nd Annual Indigenous Cultures Day in Seattle. This year, it was held outside right next to the fountain! What made it very special for me, was that my 3 younger nieces; Kyra, Karissa, Kenita,  and 2 cousins; Cat and Aspen, all came over and got to participate in the event with me!

For the few days leading up the event, we practiced the Swan Dance, and the Welcome Dance together. These are very special, old, social dances that are performed by girls. Of course, growing up on the Reservation, my nieces and cousins had learned them and practiced them before, but never in front of such a large and diverse audience! My family and I wanted them to feel confident in what they were doing. Also, we hadn’t really gotten the chance to hang out with each other, since we live here in Seattle. So, participating in this event really brought our family closer together.

At the event, we performed in the morning, and again in the afternoon. During my presentation, I handed them the microphone and had them say their names and what tribe they were. Of course, they’re all Yakama, so I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too scary for them. I was surprised when my youngest niece, Kenita, confidently joined me on stage the second time on the along with her older cousin Kyra. The second time, it was at the invitation of last year’s Miss Yakama Nation, Carmen Selam and her brother Eric who was serving as National Indian Days Warrior. 

Whispering to Kenita on stage. 

Throughout the day, I got to visit and shake hands with the various Native vendors who were tabling. Our family was tabling and selling Fry Bread as a fundraiser. The sun came out off and on, and I got to enjoy the other performances that were given. It’s honor for me to be Miss Yakama Nation, and I’m just glad that I got to bring my little cousins and nieces along for the ride. 

Kyra, Aspec, Cat, Kenita, me, and Karissa!! Nice job ladies!
(photo courtesy of Daniella Pawl)

Happy Camping!

I think it’s safe to say that every kid who grew up on the Yakama Reservation has heard of or been to Camp Chaparral, the famed summer getaway for our Native youth. I myself have fond memories of my childhood where my brother and I drove away on the big school bus that came to pick up kids at the beginning of the week. I remember how we made dream catchers, I even weaved my first basket up there (admittedly, it was key chain size, but hey)! I always had fun meeting my cousins and cooling off in the icy river. Once, we went fishing and I took a picture of the pint size trout I managed to catch. (There was even a salamander all the kids tried to poke at!) It has a lot of happy memories and that history stretches even further back to my parent’s time, when the place was brand new. Although it was long ago, my memories of it still feel vivid and I enjoy knowing that there are still people who go up there and volunteer as staff to look after our young ones and make sure they have that safe zone. It is of course drug and alcohol free and this is really important that our youth know that that’s a priority.

At the Open House, there was a Mini-Powwow, led by an all-youth drum. There was even a switch dance which featured the staff and student volunteers, one of them was Sheila Pierce, my old friend from Wapato High School. She and the other staff worked tirelessly all summer to keep the camp running spick and span. Stephen Salam was in charge this year, and during the lunch I got to catch up with him about school and UW Powwow. He too is an Alum of University of Washington, he and my older brother were both part of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society chapter at UW. I was super excited when he invited me to come down to the Open House. It was a great day catching up with folks and seeing how my childhood playground is still being played in. 

Roosevelt Powwow

After Seafair on Saturday, my family and I drove across the state to attend Roosevelt Powwow by the Columbia River. We were invited to go there by our Tribal Councilman Sam Jim Jr, as his family helps put it on every year. Unlike Seattle, which had rained, Roosevelt was dry and hot. Nonetheless, there were of course a lot of Yakamas there, and Miss Warm Springs showed up as well! It was great seeing her and her dad again. (We did hear an announcement for Roosevelt Powwow at Pi-Ume-Sha.) Although it was a smaller Powwow, we had fun with the closer community—shaking hands of course, getting to know the new Miss City of Roses (Delta Park Powwow Queen) and hanging out with some old friends. Of course my mom bought raffle tickets…to no avail. But thankfully there were a few kids walking around selling dried fish, more people were selling popcorn, and we munched a bit while chatting with a family friend and her husband. It was nice just being able to enjoy the weather and watch the river. It is traditional land after all…

Seafair in Seattle!!

I was very eager to attend this year’s Seafair Powwow, I lived in Seattle, and many of my city friends would be there so I’d finally be able to share with them a little piece of Yakama. When I was in high school, I had volunteered at this Powwow. It’s held at the United Indians Daybreak Star Cultural Center which was established by Bernie White Bear in the 60’s to be a cultural center for the Native American community here in Seattle. Every summer they have the Seafair Powwow on their grounds—with a perfect view of the ocean. In my down time at the Powwow, I tabled with Clear Sky’s booth. My dad and I had also received gifts to hand out to promote Yakama Nation Land Enterprise: Pickled Asparagus! It tastes really good and I enjoy having something to give out to people.

With my good friend Tracy Rector of Longhouse Media! 

A few really special things happened at this Powwow; I was interviewed by KOMO 4 News, and my aunt came by with a new dress for me! While tabling, later in the afternoon, various news anchors were dropping by filming and checking out the Powwow—it’s one of the bigger events in Seattle after all! While tabling, I was being interviewed by another independent online news group, when another seemingly nondescript filmmaker showed up, although he had a larger camera. It was quick, but I was honored that he came over to ask me! We gave him some asparagus and he told us to check it out on the 11 o’clock news later that night. Later, my aunt Sophie came by with a brand new, pink and black southern style dress! I was in awe at its beauty! It was good that I was wearing my pink wingdress for the afternoon because it matched perfectly! She made it Southern style to honor my mom who is Southern Cheyenne. I was taught that when an elder makes you something and asks you to wear it, you honor their gift by wearing it.

Fellow Royalties!

The Powwow was quite a blur, as we went from one booth to the next meeting and greeting vendors, old friends, paused to say hi to the committee, and my friend Kaleena Marchand, who works with United Tribes to put on the Powwow. She’s an alum of the First Nations @ UW club and has more than enough experience. We visited with our friends Fern Renville and Martha Brice, directors of Red Eagle Soaring, a Native American Theater Group here in Seattle. I mingled with the other royalties; our own Veteran’s Day Queen of Yakama, the Puyallup Queens, along with the 2010-2011 Miss Shoshone Bannock! (Her outgoing Powwow was to be held in a few more weeks.) We round danced and socialized way past our original scheduled time. We were exhausted when we came home that night, I fell asleep the second I hit the couch…only be forced to wake minutes later to watch my interview on KOMO 4 News. It was thrilling and my last words were, “Yeah that was cool,” before collapsing a few seconds after it was done. Lol, it was totally worth it. 

Toppenish 4th of July Parade!

Being the Toppenish 4^th of July Parade was very special, mostly because I had gone to that Parade nearly half my life, and I always wanted to be in it. It’s one of the biggest events in the small town, and I was looking forward to participating in it. As we pulled up to the green lawn to park our car, horses, city floats, and random cars began to show up. I got the very special chance to mingle with Miss Granger and her court. My younger twin cousins showed up an hour later and we visited while dividing candy and arranging the shawls. Just a few minutes before the Parade started, a familiar van pulled up and out jumped Katrina Black Wolf, our Jr Miss Yakama Nation! We were pleasantly startled as she asked if she could join us in the Parade. I was just grateful to have someone to talk to during the long drive through town. So we readjusted the shawls and she climbed aboard.

Getting our smiles on!

All in all, it was really fun waving and smiling. It was also pretty good too that we were in it together as we were both representing the Yakama Nation. Our friends from the Powwow Committee were a few cars ahead of us, Ida and Starla Moses-Hyipeer. Their younger brother Cato, was Veteran’s Day Warrior and they had their own float. We all visited and chatted afterward. I was glad to have gone through that with Katrina, I’m really glad we get along.

A Wildhorse Weekend!

There were a lot of things that were going this weekend; I had a meeting with the Yakama Nation Youth Council, I made an appearance at the Toppenish Powwow, and then our family drove all the way to Pendleton OR to make it for Wildhorse Casino Powwow with the Umatilla’s. Fourth of July was coming up so we would have to be back in time for Toppenish Parade, lol, it was kind of grueling, but such is the life of a traveling Royalty, and it’s always worth it. :) 

At Wildhorse, it was very windy, sunny and dry. But it’s a big Powwow, and that’s a lot of hands to shake. It certainly made standing in Grand Entry a lot fun as there were lots of Royalty to meet and talk with. Lol, thankfully, my brothers joined me and helped me keep track of where to go. We had a good time catching up with Jr. Miss Yakama Nation, and with some old friends from Wapato. The unanticipated highlight of the Powwow, much to everyone’s surprise, was when the wind suddenly burst up and carried a giant canopy/party tent with it! It made everyone laugh. I had a great time visiting with the ladies sitting next to us; whom kindly offered to share their tent and cold water with my family.