Pow-Wow Princess
Crownpoint teen represents freedom from addiction

Theresa Johnson,15, was recently crowned the new NCI Miss Sobriety Princess because of her demonstration of traditional and contempary talents, public speaking and an essay relating to alcohol problems in the area. Johnson will spend the next year working with youth at schools and other gatherings to help educate her peers on the dangers of alcohol. (Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent)

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Theresa Johnson is just a sophomore in high school, but she was recently chosen to perform a big job for the Na'Nizhoozhi Center in Gallup.

Theresa, 15, of Crownpoint, N.M., was crowned the newest Miss NCI Sobriety Pow-Wow Princess at NCI's New Year's Eve Sobriety Gourd Dance and Pow-Wow. As the 2005 princess, Theresa will be the public face for the alcohol treatment facility's community outreach efforts in the coming year.

"I was really surprised that they picked me," Theresa said during a recent interview at NCI. As part of the competition, Theresa had to demonstrate a contemporary skill and a traditional talent, write a 200 word essay, and answer a question in a public speaking format.

For her contemporary skill, Theresa recited a poem she had written in memory of a friend who had died of alcohol poisoning, and for her traditional talent, she demonstrated the fancy shawl and round dance styles of pow-wow dancing.

According to Theresa's mother, Thelma Johnson, it was Theresa's idea to pursue the title. "She brought up the idea weeks before," Johnson said. "I did tell her it's going to be a big challenge. She did all of it all on her own."

Because her mother couldn't get off work on New Year's Eve, Theresa was crowned without her mother or four younger sisters on hand to celebrate with her. Instead, she had to make do with a telephone call on a cell phone to her mother at work. "That was the best part," said Theresa of the happy but tearful phone call.

Firsthand knowledge
Both Theresa and her mother know firsthand of the damage alcohol abuse does to families. Thelma Johnson is a dispatcher for the Crownpoint Police Department, and in her work, she sees many adults who come to the police asking for help with their children and grandchildren who are abusing alcohol and drugs.

"Alcohol is a big issue, I would say, nationwide," Johnson said. In the Crownpoint area, she added, it's not rare to find children as young as nine abusing alcohol.

Theresa agreed that substance abuse is a big problem in the Crownpoint community, even with a number of her friends. Calling alcohol abuse a "life or death situation," Theresa said she would like to learn more about the problems associated with alcohol abuse in order to share it with people in the Crownpoint community and across the Navajo Nation.

"If I can learn more about alcohol...," she explained, "I can teach it out there, especially to my friends because they're really close to me." Theresa added that she tries to be supportive of friends with substance abuse problems. "I know the real them when they're sober," she explained.

Theresa, who has pursued a personal interest in dancing at pow-wows and Navajo song and dance events, believes teens who keep active and pursue their interests and hobbies are less likely to abuse substances.

Inspired by her mother's example and an aunt who works as a prosecutor in the juvenile court system, Theresa said she hopes to eventually attend law school at Yale University and would like to become a tribal court judge for the Navajo Nation.

Her own path
As for now, Theresa is considering transferring from Crownpoint High School to Gallup High for the spring semester, so she can be closer to NCI and learn more about its alcohol treatment work in the community. She and her mother are making plans for Theresa to move in with a cousin who lives south of Gallup.

"I'm willing to learn and change my life for this," Theresa said, "and have fun along the way."

"It's going to be a big challenge," agreed Thelma Johnson, of her daughter's move. "We'll probably learn a lot."

Dr. Kevin Foley, the director of clinical services at NCI, explained that Thelma's predecessor, Doretta Largo, spent a lot of time at NCI in order to learn about its treatment programs. Largo, a local college student, even became an employee of NCI, he said, and worked as a community liaison representative.

"Doretta Largo has really elevated the position of the NCI Pow-Wow Princess," said Foley, who added that Largo put "her whole heart and soul" into the title.

Foley added, however, that NCI didn't want to put too much pressure on Theresa, since she was only a sophomore in high school. Staff members of NCI would work with her, he explained, to help her develop a theme for the year, and they would help her learn about NCI's treatment programs, particularly its traditional recovery component. Theresa can also probably work at the facility in the summer, he said.

Theresa's cousin, Victoria Lancer, expressed confidence that Theresa will carry out her responsibilities well, in spite of her young age. "I think she can make her own big shoes and her own path," said Lancer.

— Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola can be contacted at (505) 863-6811, ext. 218 or ehardinburrola@yahoo.com.