NESIKA ILLAHEE POW-WOW
Royalty Enjoys
Trip to Gathering
of Nations
pow-wows and I’d especially like to
thank Craig Whitehead for all the hard
work he’s done for the royalty this year.
Samantha Lynch, Jr. Miss Siletz
2000-2001
In April, Jennifer Easter, Samantha
Lynch, and I attended the Gathering of
Nations Pow-Wow in Albuquerque,
N.M. We had the pleasure of attending
the Miss Indian World pageant and an
opportunity to meet the contestants.
During grand entry, we had the chance
to meet royalty from all over the United
States and Canada. It was my first time
going so I thought it was a great
experience. A bald eagle opened one of
the sessions.
I would like to thank Craig
Whitehead for having us represent the
Siletz Tribe. I would also like to thank
Selene Rilatos and Caroline Easter for
being our chaperones and making sure
we did everything we needed to do and
for making sure we were everywhere
we needed to be. Marlene and Tiffany
Stuart drove from Kansas and we all
represented our tribe with pride.
Some of our side trips included Sky
City and the Acoma Casino for lunch.
Marlene took a lot of pictures; we posed
with the outgoing Miss Indian World
and she was very gracious. We also
posed with Irene Bedard, who’s an
actress from the movie “Smoke
Hello, my name is Jennifer Easter
and I am Little Miss Siletz 2000-2001.
I would like to take this time to say
thank you to the Pow-Wow Committee
for sending me to the Gathering of
Nations Pow-Wow in April 2001.
The most rewarding thing to me
was meeting Miss Indian America, Miss
Indian World, and all the other royalty
from different states. I also had some
time to go site-seeing and see how
Indians make their own pottery and
jewelry. This is how some of them make
a living. I was amazed at the pottery
and the designs that they had on them.
The designs on their pottery tell a story
about which tribe they belong to.
I also attended the pageant where
they pick the Miss Indian World 2001-
2002. This year, they had 24 girls for
contestants and each girl was judged for
her talent, speech interview, and a dance
competition. For their talent, some told
stories; these stories were spoken in their
own language and then told in English.
Two contestants sang spiritual songs in
their own language. One contestant told
how her grandmother taught her to tan
her own hides. These three things were
the most rewarding to me.
Also at the pageant there was a
movie star and a disc jockey; they were
the emcees for the evening. They were
really funny. After the pageant, we had
a chance to talk with them and teach
them how to say Siletz the right way.
We also had a chance to talk to the group
Ulali; they performed at the pageant and
they were pretty good.
I would like at this time to
encourage all girls to run for the title of
Little Miss Siletz because it can be very
rewarding for you. You get to travel to
pow-wows, parades, and other things. I
would like to say thank you to everyone
who supported me for Little Miss Siletz
throughout the year. I hope that I have
made you all proud of me because I was
very proud to represent my tribe
wherever I went. Thank you to my
mother, grandpa, sister, aunts, uncles,
and cousins for everything you have
done for me. I love you all!
Jennifer Easter, Little Miss Siletz
2000-2001
L to r: Samantha Lynch, Jr. Miss Siletz; Holly John, Miss Siletz;
and Jennifer Easter, Little Miss Siletz
Signals’’ (my favorite movie of all
time!) and was also the voice of
Pocahontas. It was a great trip despite
the lost luggage, overbooked flights,
and diverted trips. If you ever have a
chance to attend the Gathering of
Nations Pow-Wow, do because I highly
recommend it.
During my term as Miss Siletz, I
have traveled to many pow-wows in
Oregon, such as the Oregon State
University and University of Oregon
pow-wows. I’ve met many interesting
people such as royalty from other tribes
and organizations. I will definitely
Tipi Drawing
Name
__________________ ________________ ___
Address_________
Phone
Roll #
For Siletz Tribal members to use
during the Nesika Illahee Pow-Wow
on Aug. 10-12, 2001. One entry per
household, please. Deadline for
entries is July 31, 2001. Names will
be drawn soon after the deadline.
Return the form to:
Siletz Pow-Wow
Attn: Tipi
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380
8
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Siletz News
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July 2001
remember this opportunity in my life and
I will remember everything about it.
The one thing that will stand out
the most will be how much the tribe
and the community have stood behind
me in the actions I have made in being
Miss Siletz. I hope you feel that I have
represented the tribe and community
well. I feel that I have done the best of
my ability. It has been fun and a very
great honor to be Miss Siletz
2000-2001. I strongly recommend that
more young Siletz ladies run for
Siletz royalty. It’s a fun and
rewarding experience.
Holly John, Miss Siletz 2000-2001
The best thing about my trip to
Albuquerque was watching the Miss
Indian World pageant. The pow-wow
was okay, but you didn’t get to dance
much unless you competed. The
competition wasn’t fair because they
picked people out of the audience to be
judges. I liked going to the Acoma
Pueblo, but we didn’t have time to go
on the tour. I would like to go to the
pow-wow again to run for Miss Indian
World. What encouraged me to want to
run for Miss Indian World was seeing a
girl that I know run and get second
runner-up.
I encourage girls to run for Jr. Miss
Siletz in the future. I had a great time
this year representing my tribe, traveling
to different pow-wows. I like going to
all the different pow-wows because I got
to meet a lot of different royalty and
see new dances from other cultures.
I’d like to thank the Pow-Wow
Committee for sending me to all of the