Princess proud of heritage

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Marcie Meguinis, a 19-year-old from the Tsuu T'ina Nation, is this year's Calgary Stampede Indian Princess. As the Stampede princess, Meguinis is the ambassador for the Indian Village and a role model for the youth of the Treaty 7 area.

Meguinis is sending out an invitation to Sweetgrass readers to visit the Indian village while at "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth," which runs July 9 to 18.

Jane Nicholson, a co-ordinator for the Indian village said Meguinis will participate in the Calgary Stampede parade, which will be broadcast live on local television stations and will appear in the 10 evening grandstand shows.

"The Stampede Indian Princess will make over 100 appearances beginning in June and throughout the Stampede," said Nicholson. "The Calgary Stampede Board has been running the pageant for about 15 years now and the princess is a proud ambassador of her culture."

The Indian village has been part of the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede since 1912. The First Nations people at the Indian village represent the five tribes of Treaty 7 territory.

Meguinis was crowned in May by 2003 outgoing princess Natasha Calf Robe of the Siksika Nation. Calf Robe said she had a great year as the Stampede princess and has just graduated from the Canadian Studies program at the University of Calgary. She will now focus her studies towards a PhD in Applied Psychology.

"It was a great crown to represent at all the powwows and functions. I met so many interesting people throughout the year, including Phil Fontaine, the AFN National Chief," said Calf Robe, a 22-year-old who hopes to one day be chief of the Siksika Nation. "The advice I've given to Marcie is just be herself and have fun and be proud of who she is."

The seven judges, including one from each of the Treaty 7 tribes, chose Meguinis based on her ability in public speaking, traditional dance and her one-minute presentation on how she could best represent Treaty 7.

Meguinis has just finished her transfer program at Mount Royal College and is waiting for acceptance in either the Public Relations or Indigenous Studies Program at the University of Calgary.

Meguinis has been involved in various cultural exchange programs, including one to Switzerland, and most recently a month-long International Youth Leadership Seminar in Victoria.

Meguinis is a dance instructor with the Wandering Spirit Dance Group. Her parents are Jim and Darlene Meguinis and her late grandmother, Audrey Calf Child, was a member of the Siksika Nation.

"I ran for the pageant to do positive things and now that I've won I would like to educate the international community on the outdated, stereotype image of Native people still in buckskin," Meguinis said. "Native people are great achievers in the 21st century, but at the same time we still have our identity and are proud of our culture."