The Happy Canyon Board of Directors has named Marley Johnson and Samantha Craig-Allen as the 2022 Happy Canyon Princesses.
They will serve as the 2022 ambassadors for the Happy Canyon Night Show, Oregon’s official outdoor night pageant that takes place each night of the Pendleton Round-Up.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have these two talented local young women represent Happy Canyon this next year,” said Happy Canyon President Tanner Hawkins. “Their family roots run deep in local tribal history and in Happy Canyon, so we’re honored to have them serve as our representatives in 2022.”
Johnson, 20, is the daughter of Micah Johnson and Julie Rowell of Portland. She is of Nez Perce, Cayuse and Walla Walla. She has attended Happy Canyon and the Pendleton Round-Up nearly all of her life, and began competing in Junior American Indian pageants at age 3.
In 2019, Johnson took third place in the Senior American Indian Pageant, and has participated in the Happy Canyon Nigh Show several times. As a Happy Canyon Princess, Johnson will continue a family legacy, most recently passed down by her aunt Drew (Johnson) Rivera, who was a Happy Canyon Princess in 2000.
Johnson is a descendant of Chief Joseph’s sister, Sarah. Her grandfather, William Johnson, was the first tribal member to pass the Oregon State Bar and has been Chief Judge at the CTUIR Tribal Court for over 30 years. Her paternal grandparents, Bill and Darcy Johnson, as well as her maternal grandparents, Gail and Robert Picard all reside on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and her grandfather, Charles Rowell of Pendleton, currently lives in Portland.
Johnson’strappings belong to Sally Kosey, and her dress was beaded in 1999 by Mirna Strong for her aunt, Drew Johnson. Her purse, leggings, and cuffs were also beaded by Mirna Strong and gifted to her Aunt Vickie Johnson in 1997. The moccasins that Johnson will wear as a Happy Canyon Princess have been in the family for more than 100 years.
Johnson is a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy in Portland and is currently a sophomore at Mt. Hood Community College, where she plays both basketball and softball. Her goal is to complete an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degree at MHCC and transfer to a university where she plans to continue to pursue athletics and a degree in journalism or communications field.
“I am proud and humbled to be selected as a 2022 Happy Canyon Princess,” Johnson said. “Being selected as a Happy Canyon Princess means so much to me. It allows me to act as a role model for youth and the honor to represent Oregon Natives, specifically my Indigenous urban community. I look forward to giving back to the community as well as gaining new experiences.”
Craig-Allen, 19, is the daughter of Sandra Craig of Pendleton and Sheldon Allen of Culdesac, Idaho, and is a 2020 graduate of Pendleton High School. She is of Umatilla, Cayuse and Nez Perce descent and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).
Her maternal great-great grandfather Dick Johnson was with the Nez Perce band during the War of 1877, as well as her great-great grand uncle See Ya Kun llp llp, who was the son of William Craig, Craig-Allen’s great-greatgreat-great grandfather. William was a Scottish Mountain Man from West Virginia who married Isobel, the daughter of “Old James,” who was a Sub Chief and Medicine Man with the Upper Nez Perce in Idaho.
William became an interpreter during the Treaty of 1855 for his father-in-law Old James. Craig-Allen is also the descendant of Fishhawk, who was a Cayuse Warrior, and was her maternal great-great-great grandfather.
Craig-Allen plans to enroll at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, where she’d like to improve her skills in writing, dance and acting. She currently works at McDonald’s at Arrowhead Travel Plaza. She says she applied to become a Happy Canyon Princess because of her late grandfather, Fermore Craig Sr., who was a part of Happy Canyon for more than 75 years. Craig-Allen cherishes the memories she has of participating in in Happy Canyon with her grandfather before his passing and looks forward to continuing the tradition in her family.
“What I am excited about being a Happy Canyon Princess is being able to get in touch with my culture even more and making my family proud for representing our Tribe, Happy Canyon, and, most of all, my families,” Craig-Allen said. “Also, I’m looking forward to all of the traveling and making new friends, experiences and getting to know (fellow Princess) Marley more.”
The Happy Canyon Night Show takes place Sept. 14-17, 2022.
