Mother worries about daughter in U.S. Navy

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Fears of America's impending war with Iraq are a constant worry to Gail McNab. Her daughter Alexis Dustyhorn is in the United States Navy, the first Aboriginal woman with the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74, known as Charlie Company, which provides responsive military construction to navy, marine corps and other military operations.

"She will be a construction engineer when she gets out," explained McNab, who was concerned when her headstrong daughter decided on this career path.

"It was a hard decision for me as a parent to let Alexis make this kind of choice. But she's always been of strong will and mind," said McNab. "She always tells me she will get a good job and look after me when I get older. That's just the kind of young woman she is."

Dustyhorn was born and spent her early years on the Kawacatoose First Nation in southern Saskatchewan. She has travelled to Puerto Rico, Japan, and Guam with the navy, and her next stop could be a conflict in Iraq.

"Through the navy, she has her sniper's licence. She could be in the centre of any conflict. I'm afraid for her, but I have faith that the grandfathers are watching over her and she'll come home safely to me."

Family members often find it hard to understand why Dustyhorn would want to move so far away, and to live in another country.

"We have always been in close contact with each other, and no other family member ever lived such a long distance from home," McNab said.

Dustyhorn is an accomplished young woman, no matter what her chosen career.

"We moved to Regina when she was in Grade 5 and she became actively involved in sports. She's a real team player. She also grew to love powwow dancing, and became very accomplished in a short time," said McNab.

Dustyhorn was awarded the Treaty 4 Youth Ambassador designation when she was 13. In Grade 12, she joined a friend's dance and drum group, the Starblanket Juniors, and traveled throughout North America on the powwow circuit.

"Most of her homework was done on the road," said McNab.

Dustyhorn attended Tuba City high school on Arizona's Navajo reservation to finish her final year and to experience a different First Nation culture.

"Alexis couldn't get her tuition funds transferred so she financed her own education by attending powwows every weekend around Arizona and surrounding states. The people in the United States had a lot to learn about First Nations culture in Canada and had many misconceptions, which Alexis was anxious to correct," said McNab. Dustyhorn was popular with groups who wanted to see her perform the Canadian style of powwow dancing and she lent her voice to singing with drum groups as well.

She was also crowned Miss Navajo Fair Powwow Princess, to the surprise of some locals.

"Alexis said that she carried out the requirements necessary to achieve the crown simply to prove to all youth that they could set a goal and be successful at reaching it," said McNab.

Dustyhorn married D'Angelo Hayes in the years since high school and their son, also named D'Angelo, is now three years old.

"When she is finished with her duties in the navy she plans on moving home for a while and re-joining the powwow circuit until her son is school age," said McNab. Dustyhorn hopes to go on to become a paediatric nurse at some time in her life, she added.

In the meantime, although Dustyhorn is enjoying the challenges and rewards of her life, she finds she greatly misses her fellow powwow friends and her family back home in Saskatchewan.

"If her friends could write to her it would sure brighten her days," said McNab, adding that her address is #9 - 2830 Dewdney Avenue, Regina, SK S4T 0X7. "I can forward any mail she receives to her."