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Warm Springs, Oregon
January 16, 1997 3
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Miss Warm Springs title goes to 21 -year-old Arlissa Rhoan
Three young women vie for title during
January 9 ceremonies at Agency Longhouse.
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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.
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Arlissa will act as ambassador for the Confederated Tribes throuqhout the next
year. 3
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Sunmiet, her family and friends during farewell dance.
Mandy presented a speech
Photos by Daniel Lawrence
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