Comanche Nation Jr. Princess Bids Farewell, Looks to Next Title
On Saturday, March 16, Comanche Nation Jr. Princess Vivien Parker held her outgoing powwow at Watchetaker Hall.
She said one of her greatest accomplishments was getting to know the Comanche people as well as breaking out of her shell.
“If people don't know me, I'm very shy, and it's hard for me to talk, but I think that shell's kind of broken a little bit, and I'm more free-spirited,” Parker said.
She said that being at the powwow was emotional.
“But very happy, like bittersweet, but I'm glad that I'm here,” Parker said. “I'm glad that this dance was able to happen because we didn't even know if it was going to happen.”
The powwow was complete with several competitions from all age groups as well as giveaways.
“Well, for one, I had a scrub dance, and the reason for that is because of…Potawatomie. And I wanted to showcase a little bit of my culture from my other tribe,” she said. “And I just wanted to show people that I'm not just one thing; I'm others, too. But I just wanted to incorporate that into this dance. Really, I made this dance not about me. I’m making it about my great-parents, Barbara Ruth and Joe Green, because when it came about having this contest, I just thought a lot about them. And I wanted something that felt up there, at home. And so, I was like, ‘Scrub dance.’”
Parker said one of her highlights was getting a song.
“I wasn't expecting that. And one of my biggest highlights was making it official that I have brothers now; older brothers. And that was good,” she said.
Parker said since receiving the Jr. Princess title, she’s learned a lot.
“Everything about this title, it just gave me so much strength,” she said. “And like I said in my speech, it showed me what a princess really is. And it really has brought up my confidence. And that's just kind of the reason why I want to run for Comanche Nation Jr. Princess. Because I had a great year with the Comanche Nation, I want to have another great one with them. And I'm just not ready to let it go. I want to keep on going.And if I don't win, I'll just run the next year.”
She said she’ll be running for Comanche Nation Princess.
“After getting my title, I realized how much accepted I was,” Parker said. “And not just that, but my grandparents and my mom. They gave me a lot of courage to do what I want to do. And how I want to do things. And when I ran for the title, it's because my mom showed me her old banners, and I'm like, ‘I think I like this.’ And not just that, but I want it to represent something big. I want it to make people proud, and I hope I make people proud by representing the people of Comanche Nation. And as of tonight, I appreciate everything and everybody for all the kindness and just being so generous. It means a lot to me.”
Parker said she appreciated everyone who was at the powwow, especially her family.
“I would also like to say thank you to my family. And not just my family, but my grandparents. Because, like I said in my speech, without them, this wouldn't be possible,” she said. “I would have not been able to have this today. And I'm really glad that I get to spend this night and spend this day with them. And I'm glad that my family tried to help us as much as they could because they had to. And I just appreciate it a lot. Especially my grandpa, because it was like three weeks before my powwow, and I had asked him to make me a bench for my powwow to raffle. And he said the words he gave me was, ‘I don't know.’ But the next thing I know, he was buying wood and saying, ‘Are you going to help me make this bench?’ And I appreciate him for that, because he took his time to make something for me. And I appreciate that because he didn't have to do that. He couldn't have spent time to watching TV or do anything else to get that for me, and I appreciated that."
