A unique
leader

By Rudy Kelly

The leader of the Gitmaxmak’ay Nisga’a dancers raises a large talking stick and urges them on, impressively coordinating what is considered to be one of the best Aboriginal dance groups in British Columbia.

Normally, the leader of such a distinguished group would be a man of many years but this one is different, a rare breed. She is Marlena Clayton and, at just 26 years old, she is one of the youngest women known to have been given the honor of wielding a talking stick.

Talking sticks are traditionally only to be used by chiefs and, so, it was a chief from her mother’s village, Gingolx, the late Morris Haldane, who passed it on to her one evening during a group practice at one of the local elementary school gyms in Prince Rupert.

Clayton said the chief didn’t think it was right that she was leading with a drum, that she needed to be freer to gesture, and so he gave her the stick that she has now used for almost four years.

“I was speechless,” beamed Clayton, recalling the moment. “In our tradition, females aren’t supposed to touch the talking stick so I wasn’t expecting it. He told me that, in using the stick, I was kind of representing him.”

Since that moment, there is always a buzz when the Gitmaxmak’ay Dancers perform as everyone wants to see the impressive group led by the young woman with the talking stick. At many of their shows, spectators ask to have their picture taken with her.

Since her having the stick bucks tradition, Clayton was worried about how it would be perceived at first but said the reaction has been mostly supportive.

“I think there are some negative feelings about it, people whispering, but the majority of people have been impressed. Times are changing.”

Clayton began dancing when she was 10 years old and, right from the start, took an untraditional role.

“I was a drummer first and women aren’t supposed to drum but we didn’t have enough male drummers to keep the group alive, so we put females there.”

By the time she was just 16 years old, she was the group leader and, under her guidance, the group has established itself as one of the top Aboriginal dance groups in the province.

The group’s performance numbers can get as high as 140 dancers – over half of them youth – and they do anywhere between 30-40 shows a year. Last year, the group performed at the Opening Ceremonies of the National Men’s Fastpitch Championships in Prince George.

Their future aspirations include a trip to New Zealand for its Aboriginal Days, as well as the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. But, said Clayton, there is no resting on their laurels as just keeping kids involved is a challenge.

“It’s hard to keep everyone interested,” she said. “They won’t come out a lot unless they’re doing something different.”

“They want different roles and we have been thinking about doing new songs, new movements and new sounds but we also don’t want to stray too far from tradition.”
As for keeping interested herself, Clayton likes to allow some of the younger kids more of a lead role and keep them active, which not only gives them more responsibility and valuable experience but keeps her focused.

Of course, there is one thing that always lets Clayton and her dancers know whether they are on or not.

“By the vibe of the people watching, you just know when you have a good performance. You can just feel it and it brings the performance up.”

Clayton was born and raised in Prince Rupert and has spent much of her life working as a deckhand on her grandfather’s gillnetter. She is considering returning to school though, to take up nursing. First things first, however – next summer she is getting married, where there is bound to be some more dancing – without the stick.

Congratulations, Marlena! Native Journal wishes you well. 

back to top