Sarah Ortegon.

Tous, Nenee’eesih’inoo Nonookeiht Bee3eisei. Hello, My name is (Arapaho Name) and my English name is; Sarah Ortegon. I am enrolled Eastern Shoshone and I am also Northern Arapaho. I was born in Denver, CO; I was number 10 out of 12 children. Summers were my favorite past time, the whole family would pack up with our bologna sandwiches and head to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming to visit my aunt and uncle that lived half a mile away from the Sacajawea Cemetery. Our summers included swimming in the river, playing on dirt hills, running from rez dogs, shooting bb guns, riding bikes, feeding horses and watching the same 3 movies over and over again. I am now a graduate from the Metropolitan State University of Denver, with a bachelor’s in fine arts with a concentration in drawing. Although art has been my life long endeavor, I also feel like I need to express myself with acting, dancing and being in the outdoors. However, I still have a day job. I am an office manager for the law firm of Smith & Shellenberger, LLC. I have always been the tomboy type, to dig in the dirt to build fake roads for toy cars, the type of girl that would take daring rides down a dirt hill with my bike and crash it. I would constantly get into trouble for hanging out with the boys and be instructed to go inside and “wash the dishes”. I wanted to try something out of the ordinary, so I submitted to be in the Miss Native American, USA pageant. To my surprise, after learning how to wear makeup, heels and walk proper I was titled Miss Native American, USA 2013/2014. That opportunity opened a multitude of doors for me. I danced with the Native Pride Dancers in Moldova, Guatamala, and Washington, D.C at the Smithsonian. I was also able to dance for the first time at Red Rocks, opening up for a band called “Elephant Revival” with the Lee Plenty Wolf Singers. I was able to meet people who invited me into their culture in Australia; Alec Doomadgee who founded the Gulf Country Frontier Days in Queensland. I have also recently become a co-producer for the major motion picture, “Sacajawea, The Windcatcher”. Acting is a recent development, and I have been in productions such as “Black Elk Speaks” in Denver, CO. “Sitting Bulls Last Waltz” in Hollywood, California (I played “Seen by the Nation” Sitting Bulls wife). I have also had fun doing stunts for PBS’s Television series, “Jamestown.” PBS Wyoming will also be featuring me in a future documentary that includes some of my story and also my art and art process. In 2015 I went on an expedition in Alaska with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) and my appreciation for the outdoors grew by tenfold. I am now a brand ambassador for Native Women’s Wilderness, Eastwoods Adventure Apparel and Gear and will begin my Rocky Mountain Instructors Course in April of this year with NOLS. I plan on being able to take our youth into the Wind River Mountain Range, to teach them that we have been blessed with everything that is right in front of us. We only have so much time in this physical realm, I want to experience as much as possible.