This
Month's Profile...
Nancy
Johnston
by
Hilda Maston
See that pretty lady over there in the
beautiful and unusual jacket?
That is Nancy Johnston. Nancy was
born in Bremerton, but went to school in many different
places because she belongs to a military family.
Her father retired to Suquamish as a Sergeant Major in
the Marine Corps. As a Native American, Nancy has
been active in that community, from dancing at Pow-Wows
to working for Human Rights Issues for Native Americans.
She attended the University of Washington where she
earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. After
college she worked at the IRS office in data processing.
While there, she decided to quit that job and join the
circus that was Pike Place Market. She enjoyed the
Market until cold weather and the resulting low sales
made her decide to quit!
While living in Washington, DC, as a
young person, she worked with the National Congress of
American Indians. She also worked on “Americans
for Indian Opportunity” with Donna Harris, wife of the
then-Senator from Oklahoma. Nancy has a long
history of service to study of Native American Issues.
Returning home to Suquamish, Nancy was
employed by the Suquamish Tribal Museum. While
there, she worked on an oral history project focusing on
the Suquamish Tribe, a slide/tape presentation titled
“Come Forth Laughing.” It consists entirely of the
words of tribal elders. She also co-produced a
documentary called “Princess of the Pow-Wow,” which is a
biography of Ella Aquina, an elder activist and member
of the Puyallup tribe. Ella formed the American
Indian Women’s Service League, which later became the
Seattle Indian Center.
In August of 2002 Nancy was in a house
fire. She sustained burns over 60% of her body.
She has endured thirteen surgeries and has made a
remarkable recovery.
Nancy is working with the local Indian
community again. Nancy also works in her garden and
cares for her aging mother. She enjoys the sense of
community that she finds in this church. “It feels good
to be growing roots at this stage in my life.”
