Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 1997)
f ww m t 9 m f m Spilyay Tymoo Warm Springs, Oregon January 16, 1997 3 ii m m m h" w m m w m w W wmw f 9mm Miss Warm Springs title goes to 21 -year-old Arlissa Rhoan Three young women vie for title during January 9 ceremonies at Agency Longhouse. kt-i k: a . ' t: ' . -J ... V 7 . JVM'mVYU Mandy Switzler, Direlle Calica and Arlissa Rhoan, left to right, participate in honor dance for ougoing Miss Warm Springs Sunmiet Minnick. by Mandy Switzler In the Indian nation, it is under stood by all that we each hold our own place in the tribe. Native Ameri cans believe in the Circle of Life. We are all important and w each must exist. (The young ones, the elders, the men as well as the women) The young ones are held valued, for they are our future and we must protect them. Without the children we would surely perish. The elders are respected and they are held precious. The el ders are honored because they are wise and have seen the past, so they have the knowledge to teach the fu ture generations. (We seek them for advice) they will teach us through their many stories. Without teaching and guidance from the elders we would surely perish. The men. are . needed to hunt and provide meat. The women are needed to take care of the children. Without the men and the women to provide for children we would surely perish. No matter what age you are, there is a dance in your heart. If you have fire and flame in your heart, you will have the drive to be a Fancy Dancer. If your days of being wild and untamed are over and now wish only to be calm and grace ful, you have the dance of Tradition in your heart. A Fancy Dancer can be described as the wife of a warrior, or a warrior herself. It is hypnotizing to watch her dance. You think to yourself, she is beautiful and her outfit suits her well. The outfit is appealing: the colors are bright and magnificent; yellows and oranges seem to dominate the dress while the shawl is black with long black fringes. Those are the colors of the flame. She is young and passion ate woman. She has an animalistic passion. It is the same passion inside an eagle-to be free and to fly higher than any other bird; it is the drive to be fierce like a bear, it is the passion born deep within her. You can sec passion in her movement and in her face; it gives her the energy to keep on dancing while the others have stopped to rest; it is the force that guides her feet to dance. Her dance is enigmatic; she twirls and twists her body and feet in unison; They move in rhythm of the drum, which is the heartbeat of the land. She never stops dancing until the song is over, for the song seems to surround her and con trol every step. As you look further on the dance floor, you notice a dif ferent style of dancer dancing to the same drum. A Traditional Dancer can be de scribed as the wife of a chief. She is an old and wise elder and a well respected woman. Elders have the right to be unhurried because they have seen an unpleasant past. She no longer has it in her heart to prove herself. The passion inside his woman's heart is not that of fire and flame, but that of peace. This elder is your grandmother. As you w atch her dance you get the feeling she is not dancing for herself but for the w hole tribe, perhaps she is dancing for all your ancestors. It is a dance of honor. WMBTO'IIIII1JP-IIPIWMIMWIPM .: ... . fs LtL ; xlJ t 1 a 1 m I' ' . , , (M il I ft i i 1 s T I i hi l ti iVn 1 Arlissa will act as ambassador for the Confederated Tribes throuqhout the next year. 3 ' ' i ;!7ini, ;r".r V . . , , v i r - " ' rv."v I -. J't' I : fe'' " '' u 'til ?h; j ; , 4 f r" I y I l4 v I 1 ; 1 V , j f " Jf I m ff, I ' , J mA ' ' Sunmiet, her family and friends during farewell dance. Mandy presented a speech Photos by Daniel Lawrence i f 4 1 m u i O o m i