Two years ago, Tia Wood was on life support. Following a serious vehicle rollover in Montana, the Wood family, from Saddle Lake, found themselves separated as their youngest daughter was flown to the children’s hospital in Seattle with multiple breaks all over her body, and collapsed lungs.
“We almost lost Tia. She was in a coma, she was in really bad shape,” recalls Cynthia Jim-Wood, Tia’s mom, as she begins the story that led the now 15-year-old to become this year’s Miss Manito Ahbee Youth Ambassador.
On Sept. 13, Tia received the prestigious title while attending the Manito Ahbee Festival, in Manitoba.
“Manito Ahbee is one of the most important and significant traditional aboriginal gathering sites in all of Turtle Island (North America),” according to the event’s official website.
Tia attended Manito Ahbee for the first time just three months after the accident that nearly took her life, and was in attendance when her sister Fawn Wood, won an Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Award for Best Hand Drum Album in 2012.
“About three months (after the accident), so determined, she found herself on stage with her sister,” says Cynthia, as she continues telling Tia’s story. She says Tia was motivated by her sister’s success to sing, despite her lungs being scarred.
There were “multiple ceremonies devoted to her health and wellness. It was like a miracle. She just got healthier faster,” says the proud mom. Tia even found herself singing on stage with her sister at the music awards in 2012.
This year, the Wood family again found themselves at the Manito Ahbee Festival. The family would celebrate Fawn’s fourth time being nominated at the awards, this time for a duet album with her partner Dallas Waskahat.
“It’s been quite a blessed journey,” says Fawn, as she speaks of her success. “It’s not typical for a woman to be singing in this genre.” Although she sang most of her life, it is within the last seven years that Fawn started writing and composing songs.
The family would also have a second reason to celebrate, as Tia was named Miss Manito Ahbee during the international powwow competition.
The process to become Miss Manito Ahbee involves interviews, gathering references, and a hand-written essay on the day of the event. Tia says she finished the essay with just minutes to spare.
The title of Miss Manito Ahbee holds a lot of significance, says Cynthia, because it honours the memory of missing and murdered aboriginal women. During the process of becoming Miss Manito Ahbee, Tia met with the family of the late Lorna Blacksmith, a 17-year-old aboriginal girl who went missing in January of 2012, and whose body was found in June of 2012.
During the next year, Tia will work with Blacksmith’s family to create awareness about missing and murdered women.
“It was very emotional. You could tell they were still grieving,” says Tia, as she quietly recalls her meeting with the family. A rather shy girl, Tia says she was “shocked, and excited, and happy,” when she was named Miss Manito Ahbee.
Along with singing, Tia is also an old-style jingle dancer.
She says she hopes to “inspire young girls to get involved with their culture,” which is something her older sister Fawn also aspires to do through her music.
Tia now has the responsibility to speak on behalf of the murdered and missing aboriginal women, whenever she gets the opportunity. She will speak at gatherings of all kinds over the next 12 months.
Cynthia says Tia will use her 12,000 fans on Facebook to help create awareness. Online, Tia has quite a large following of fans. Her name is easily searchable on YouTube, with one of her singing videos posted about a year ago garnering over 105,000 views.
Although most teenagers are still discovering who they are, Cynthia believes that because of her accident and cultural upbringing, Tia is much more aware of her identity. She describes her daughter are being accepting, patient, kind, thankful, and honest.
“That’s what she brought to the table in her mannerisms,” says Cynthia, adding, “It’s the way she lives.”
And although the 15-year-old has already achieved such success, she knows there is still a lot to learn in life. Her mom believes the Miss Manito Ahbee title will be a major “stepping stone” in her daughter’s life.
“This is such a triumph for her,” says Cynthia, adding, her daughter worked hard holistically to get her health back after the accident.
“We truly believe that our family is in ceremony all the time,” says Cynthia, adding, the family has always attended powwows and a variety of ceremonies. The other Wood children are also following paths that demonstrate their strong cultural upbringing.
The family is made up of four daughters and one son. Their daughter Raven is currently travelling a powwow circuit in California, while another daughter, Naomi, is completing her masters in social work. Along with pursuing her musical talents, Fawn is furthering her post-secondary education as well. Their son, Wiser, just started a six-year program in clinical social work.
The importance of education is a crucial part of the Wood children’s upbringing.
“That’s our new buffalo,” says Cynthia, as she explains that she and her husband realize education plays a key role in their family’s success. Cynthia is also furthering her post-secondary education at the moment.
Both Earl and Cynthia are residential school survivors and Cynthia says it is their “cultural way of life” that has allowed them to thrive.
Going back to the moment Tia was named Miss Manito Ahbee, both Cynthia and Fawn describe the moment in similar terms.
“When they called her name, we were just ‘oh my goodness’, we just couldn’t believe it,” says Cynthia, with Fawn adding, “It was a very proud moment for all of us.”
According to the festival’s website, the Manito Ahbee site is located in the western Whiteshell area of Manitoba, and marks the location where the Creator makes his home. Manito Ahbee means, “Where the Creator sits.”
The site is recognized by aboriginal peoples across North America as a sacred place for all people.
