To read more of Rosie Colosi's article, please click here, Her tribe was at the first Thanksgiving. She's an ordinary 16-year-old ... and a Powwow Princess.
Picture credit: Eli Faria for TODAY
In many ways, Ciara Hendricks is a typical 16-year-old. She's a junior at Mashpee Middle-High School on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. She plays basketball, lacrosse and field hockey. She works two part-time jobs, and she's considering pursuing nursing after she graduates, just like her mom and sisters.
She also represents the future of a proud tradition, as this year's Powwow Princess of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Native American tribe that attended the first Thanksgiving.
"I've been representing my tribe ever since I was born," Hendricks tells TODAY.com. "I've been dancing my whole life, attending all the powwows, so I felt like it was just right for me to go and apply for the role as the Princess."
With her cell phone in hand, Hendricks may be living in a world that her ancestors never imagined, but she hopes to honor them as she moves through life.
The Wampanoag connection to the first Thanksgiving
Tribal Chairman Brian Weeden says the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has existed for over 12,000 years in current-day Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
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