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[article provided by Paul Pureau. Thanks!]

from the Billings Gazette

WASHINGTON APPEARANCE UPCOMING
Lame Deer youth group dances against drugs
By PAT BELLINGHAUSEN
Of The Gazette Staff

Dancing in two worlds, traditional and contemporary, a
group of young people from Lame Deer delivers a powerful
message about choosing a lifestyle free of alcohol and
other drugs.

Gazette photo/BOB ZELLAR
Andrea Elkshoulder, 14, dances in traditional
buckskin clothing in a Native Reign
presentation at a Montana-Wyoming tribal
leaders health conference last week in Billings.
 

"Sometimes our songs kind of send a message out," said Shane
Shot Gun, an 18-year-old Native Reign member.

The youth group Native Reign, now five years old, has an
impressive list of credits: Performances all over the
American West and Midwest and in Canada. In Montana, they
have danced at the Montana Governors' Youth Summit in 1998
and at an Indian Health Service youth conference in 1999.

Last spring, members of the youth group traveled to Helena
where they were honored by Gov. Marc Racicot for service to
families.

This May, the group will head east to Washington, D.C.,
where they will celebrate Native Reign's selection for the
Local Legacies program in the Library of Congress.

Keeping up with performances and twice-weekly practices
requires a major commitment by the students.

K.R. Bixby, 23, and Robyn Bisonette, 21, longtime members of
the group, now attend Montana State University-Billings.
Both make time to drive to Lame Deer twice a week for
two-hour dance practices.

The qualifications for membership are clear, Bixby said:
"You've got to be drug and alcohol free and you've got to
love to dance." Bixby said.

Robyn Bisonette's father, Ken Bisonette, who works in youth
programs for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, first organized
the group five years ago and continues as its coordinator
and mentor. Native Reign meets and practices at the Lame
Deer Teen Center where Ken Bisonette works with other local
youth programs.

The students have to work to earn money for their travel and
other performance expenses. They have held bake sales,
raffles, and most recently, a Mexican dinner and dance.

Native Reign members have been people who have never used
drugs as well as people who are recovering from addiction.

"We've had kids who have been in treatment and used our
group as a support group," Ken Bisonette said.

Native Reign members are positive role models for other
students, he said. Each member pledges to do his or her best
to live a healthy lifestyle. Parents also sign a pledge that
they will support their son or daughter. Parental support is
important to Native Reign.

The group combines traditional and contemporary music in its
performances. Often, the dancers appear in traditional
buckskin outfits, complete with brightly-colored fancy
shawls for the girls. The performance touches two worlds,
traditional and contemporary, so the dancers change costumes
and finish the show in khaki slacks and white T-shirts
emblazoned with the Native Reign name.

What's in the name?

"Native is what we are," Ken Bisonette explained. "Without
alcohol and drugs, we are ruling, we are in control."

Sometimes the group does a skit to get its message across.
Members usually answer questions from their audiences. They
become celebrities, even signing autographs for younger
students.

In addition to dance practice, the group sometimes has
speakers on subjects such as resisting peer pressure.

Over the five years that Native Reign has existed, it has
had 175 young members. The group now has eight members,
ranging in age from 11 to 23. The oldest is Jon Bisonette,
Ken's son, the group's first singer and dancer who continues
to help the group. The youngest is Feather Horse, 11, who
joined with her sister, Tiana Horse, 14. Andrea Elkshoulder,
14, is the newest member of Native Reign, having joined
three weeks ago.

Older Native Reign members, such as Tara Beckman, mentor
younger members. Beckman, 16, loves to dance. She joined
Native Reign in the eighth grade.

What do her friends think about the group?

"They like it. They think it's good we travel," Beckman
said. Some of her friends say they would be too shy to
perform in front of a crowd. Native Reign members have
performed before audiences of as many as 5,000 people in a
football stadium in Wichita, Kan.

Gazette photo/BOB ZELLAR
Members of the Lame Deer youth group Native
Reign dance to contemporary music.
 

In addition to dancing, Native Reign has given Beckman and
other members the opportunity to become fashion models.
While in Minneapolis for a dance performance, the youths
modeled clothing for Sears, Herberger's and Champs
sportswear.

Beckman attends night school at Dull Knife Memorial College
in Lame Deer. Her dream is to study dance at the University
of Montana.

Native Reign members said their experiences in dancing and
performing build self confidence. And, like, Beckman, they
have goals for their futures. Shane Shot Gun, for example,
sometimes works as a DJ. He plans to study music at MSU-B.

Native Reign members collaborate to choreograph their dance
routines, which they change every month or so. They also
incorporate popular songs into their dances. They have
danced to such tunes as "Wild, Wild West" and "Will 2K" by
Will Smith and the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way."

"We try to pick one that has a positive message to us,"
Robyn Bisonette said.

Native Reign has performed in California, Utah, Minnesota,
Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and in Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada. In May, the group will
travel to Washington, D.C., for a special honor. They have
been selected by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., to participate in
a Local Legacies program of the Library of Congress.

The plan is to drive to Minneapolis where the dancers will
to perform at a school. Then they will board an Amtrak train
for the rest of the trip to the nation's capital. Videos,
photos and a written summary of about the group's work will
be placed in the Library of Congress. There will also be a
celebration with other Local Legacy honorees.

"We're writing our own book," the elder Bisonette said.
"There's no other group like us."

--
Pat Bellinghausen can be reached at 657-1303 or at
pbelling@billingsgazette.com

Updated: Monday, February 21, 2000
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee
Enterprise

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