Meet the 2026 Happy Canyon princesses
By Terry Murry on Thursday, December 4th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
PENDLETON – (News release from Happy Canyon) The Happy Canyon Board of Directors is proud to announce MyaLyn Mills and Manaia Wolf as the 2026 Happy Canyon princesses. These two outstanding young women will serve as official ambassadors of the Happy Canyon Night Show, Oregon’s premier outdoor night pageant, performed each evening during the world-famous Pendleton Round-Up.
A formal introduction of Princess MyaLyn and Princess Manaia will take place at the annual Princess Brunch on Saturday, December 13, at 10:00 a.m. at the Pendleton Convention Center. The event is open to the public, and community members are invited to join in celebrating the new princesses.
“We’re thrilled to welcome MyaLyn and Manaia as the 2026 Happy Canyon Princesses,” said Happy Canyon President Kipp Curtis. “They represent both the strength of our history and the spirit of our future.”
Princess MyaLyn Mills
Princess MyaLyn, whose Indian name is Panaknuwithla (“the one who takes care of us”), is an 18-year-old enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). A 2025 graduate of Nixyaawii Community School, she is continuing her education at Blue Mountain Community College, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing with an emphasis on pediatrics. She hopes to gain experience at a children’s hospital before returning to serve her community on the reservation.
Princess MyaLyn is the daughter of Celeste Watchman and Jack Mills, and the proud sister of Dion Denny, Chelsie Paddlety, Mari Mills, and James and Madison Marsh. Her family’s strong ties to Happy Canyon, the Pendleton Round-Up, and CTUIR history run deep. She is a descendant of Chief Yellowhawk, a member of The Cayuse 5.
Following the example of her mother and her aunt Renee, Princess MyaLyn has participated in the Junior and American Indian Beauty Pageants, earning second runner-up in 2024
Raised on her childhood horse, Dreamer, she began appearing in parades at just three years old, and was riding even earlier. Her great-great-grandparents, Lucy and Wilbur, have held a place in the Pendleton Round-Up Teepee Village since the 1920s. She is honored to continue her family’s longstanding Happy Canyon legacy, including that of her cousin Avery Quaempts and grandmother Michelle Spencer.
In her free time, Princess MyaLyn enjoys trail riding, beading, baking, fishing, hunting, powwow dancing, and leatherwork. At Nixyaawii, she photographed school events, managed the girls’ basketball team, and was a member of Communicare. She also completed the NW NARCH Public Health Research and Tribal Health Scholar Academy, further strengthening her commitment to community health.
She will ride her paint horse, Foxy, with trappings she designed alongside her aunts Julie Johnson and Tina Calamity of the Ft. McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe. She will also proudly use her family’s first set of horse trappings, crafted by her paternal grandmother, Loretta Wright.
“As a 2026 Happy Canyon Princess, I am excited to represent my community, build new connections, and deepen relationships within the Happy Canyon and Pendleton Round-Up courts,” Princess MyaLyn said.
Princess Manaia Wolf
Princess Manaia, whose Indian name is Tanawiinanmay (“inquiring maiden”), is a 17-year-old enrolled CTUIR member and a senior at Weston-McEwen High School in Athena. She is the eldest daughter and middle child of Jeremy and Althea Wolf, and the sister of Aiden Mamnisha and Stella Watishyosyos. She is also close with her cousins, Althea Hicks, Clarise, Garrett, Richard, and Oscar Huesties, who will rotate as her horse crew. She comes from the Wolf, Charlie, and Conner families on her father’s side and the Burke, Patrick, Jones, and Pond families on her mother’s side.
Her family has been involved with Happy Canyon and the Pendleton Round-Up since their earliest days. Princess Manaia first appeared in Happy Canyon as a baby, tucked into her babyboard during the trade scene. She now becomes the third consecutive generation in her family to serve as a Happy Canyon Princess, continuing a 30-year pattern: her grandmother Alvina (Burke) Huesties in 1963; great-aunt Judy (Burke) Farrow in 1966; aunt Esther Huesties in 1993; and her mother Althea Huesties-Wolf in 1996.
Princess Manaia’s dress was gifted to her by her grandmother, whom she calls Kotsa, at her auntie Esther’s memorial. The dress, created nearly 110 years ago by renowned Columbia Plateau dressmaker Elsie Pistelhead, was crafted when Elsie was just 16 during what she described as her “psychedelic design phase.” The accessories were beaded by Kotsa, and her headband was made by atway Cheryl Conner. Her matching horse regalia was created primarily by her grandmother Sue Sams, with help from her mother and auntie Feather Sams-Huesties.
At Weston-McEwen, Princess Manaia competes in cross-country, basketball, and track; serves as Chairperson of Atina Club; is a member of the National Honor Society; and plays snare drum for the Scottish Pipe & Drum Band. Outside of school, she is a youth whitewater rafting guide, practices rope beadwork and bag weaving, digs for seasonal first foods at the Longhouse, cooks for ceremonies, and gathers roots and medicines with her family. As a 4-H member, she focuses on barebow archery and horse projects.
“As I prepare for my year as a Happy Canyon princess, I look forward to representing my family in new places, making new memories, and sharing how Happy Canyon continues to preserve and protect elements of my Native culture,” Princess Manaia said.
The Happy Canyon Night Show will celebrate 110 years in 2026, taking place from September 16-19, 2026. Both Princess MyaLyn and Princess Manaia are looking forward to representing the rich tradition and history of Happy Canyon with pride.
Pictures courtesy of Happy Canyon
