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ENLARGE
Kallie Provost shows off her jingle dress at her home in Roseburg on Tuesday. Kalie is a princess with the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and will be competing for queen in August at the annual Grand Ronde Pow Wow.
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ENLARGE
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Kallie Provost gets dressed into her jingle dress with the help of her mother Lanae at their home in Roseburg on Tuesday.
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ENLARGE
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Kallie Provost shows off her jingle dress at her home in Roseburg on Tuesday. Kalie is a princess with the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and will be competing for queen in August at the annual Grand Ronde Pow Wow.
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When Kallie Provost pulls a shiny blue dress over her head, places a white feather between her two long, black braids and steps to the rhythm of a drum, she’s learning about her ancestors.
Two hundred silver cone-shaped jingles clank together on her dress as she moves to the music’s beat with a fan of feathers in her right hand, her left arm on her hip and an air of confidence across her face.
Kallie, 11, who will attend sixth grade at Joseph Lane Middle School in the fall, began dancing at powwows not long after she could walk, picking up the steps from others at the community events and following in admiration of her older sister, Nekole Avants, 19, who also dances.
A current Junior Grand Ronde Princess, Kallie will compete for the title of queen at the Grand Ronde Annual Contest Powwow in mid-August.
“It has allowed her to be involved with her tribe and learn their ways,” said her mom, Lanae Provost, who does not share her daughters’ American Indian lineage but has taken her to powwows since she was nine days old. “I’m watching my daughter grow into a young woman.”
The title is not a beauty pageant prize. Kallie wears no makeup. The award of Junior Miss Grand Ronde Queen follows months of community service, fundraisers and prime behavior expectations.
Kallie, a registered member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, represents the tribe as tribal royalty, a title she earned in 2005 when she won Little Miss Grand Ronde.
She serves as a spokeswoman for her tribe, must respect her elders at all times, know the names of her tribal council members and be well-versed in the history of her tribe.
“It’s a wonderful, beautiful culture,” Lanae Provost said. “It teaches her good values.”
Kallie will dance at three powwows this summer with people from across the country and introduce herself as the great-granddaughter of the tribe’s oldest member in front of crowds of several thousand.
“I’m not shy,” she said with confidence.
In her jingle dress with a leather belt around her waist, she gracefully raised her fan of feathers, stepping with alternating feet across her living room carpet.
One day she hopes to be crowned Miss Native American, but for now she’s focused on the title “queen,” awarded during the powwow held Aug. 15 through 17.
The $150 prize that accompanies the crown seemed to be a minor, unimpressive detail to the tween, who talks about the joy of dancing, her hope to learn to drumming and the pride of representing her tribe.
“I like learning about it a lot,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
You can reach reporting intern Desiree Aflleje at 957-4211 or by e-mail at daflleje@nrtoday.com.
Two hundred silver cone-shaped jingles clank together on her dress as she moves to the music’s beat with a fan of feathers in her right hand, her left arm on her hip and an air of confidence across her face.
Kallie, 11, who will attend sixth grade at Joseph Lane Middle School in the fall, began dancing at powwows not long after she could walk, picking up the steps from others at the community events and following in admiration of her older sister, Nekole Avants, 19, who also dances.
A current Junior Grand Ronde Princess, Kallie will compete for the title of queen at the Grand Ronde Annual Contest Powwow in mid-August.
“It has allowed her to be involved with her tribe and learn their ways,” said her mom, Lanae Provost, who does not share her daughters’ American Indian lineage but has taken her to powwows since she was nine days old. “I’m watching my daughter grow into a young woman.”
The title is not a beauty pageant prize. Kallie wears no makeup. The award of Junior Miss Grand Ronde Queen follows months of community service, fundraisers and prime behavior expectations.
Kallie, a registered member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, represents the tribe as tribal royalty, a title she earned in 2005 when she won Little Miss Grand Ronde.
She serves as a spokeswoman for her tribe, must respect her elders at all times, know the names of her tribal council members and be well-versed in the history of her tribe.
“It’s a wonderful, beautiful culture,” Lanae Provost said. “It teaches her good values.”
Kallie will dance at three powwows this summer with people from across the country and introduce herself as the great-granddaughter of the tribe’s oldest member in front of crowds of several thousand.
“I’m not shy,” she said with confidence.
In her jingle dress with a leather belt around her waist, she gracefully raised her fan of feathers, stepping with alternating feet across her living room carpet.
One day she hopes to be crowned Miss Native American, but for now she’s focused on the title “queen,” awarded during the powwow held Aug. 15 through 17.
The $150 prize that accompanies the crown seemed to be a minor, unimpressive detail to the tween, who talks about the joy of dancing, her hope to learn to drumming and the pride of representing her tribe.
“I like learning about it a lot,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
You can reach reporting intern Desiree Aflleje at 957-4211 or by e-mail at daflleje@nrtoday.com.
