Elaine Miles (April 7, 1960 in Pendleton, Oregon) is an Cayuse/Nez Perceactress best known for her role as Marilyn Whirlwind in the television seriesNorthern Exposure. She got the role by accident as she came as a support for her mother. She gained respect in the American Indian community for it, being named Native American Woman of the Year in 1993, and America's Celebrity Indian of the Year in 1995. (The issue of whether to use "American Indian" or "Native American" is contentious, see Native American name controversy) She also gained respect by trying to make her character more consistently Tlingit as that was the character's ethnicity.
She was born in Pendleton, Oregon of Cayuse and Nez Perce origin, but raised as a member of the Umatilla (tribe). She learned many of the traditional skills in her youth and is a prize-winning traditional dancer. Since Northern Exposure she has done tours with her dancing and had a role in the film Smoke Signals. She has also done an exercise video related to the concerns of diabetes rates among Native Americans.
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