Content Warning: This story discusses mental health challenges.
Growing up across the state of Oregon, Ei-Shah Pirtle-Wright has called many places home.
“I’m from the Earth,” said Pirtle-Wright, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, with Siletz, Klamath and Modoc descendancy. Pirtle-Wright identifies as Two Spirit and uses she/they pronouns. ICT and UNN will use both interchangeably throughout the story per both newsrooms’ style guides.
“I am Earth. These areas here, these rivers, these mountains, these lakes, those are what call me home,” they said, gesturing to the Earth around them and pounding their fist in the air to emphasize each word.
Born in Coos Bay, Oregon, Pirtle-Wright, 22, grew up moving around a lot. Raised by their grandparents most of their childhood, she spent a few years in foster care before couch surfing from family member to family member’s homes. As the oldest of six, she helped raise her siblings, particularly as her mom struggled with addiction.
It wasn’t until she went down to Chiloquin, Oregon, the summer before seventh grade, that she found a place that truly felt like home.
“That was probably one of the only times I ever got to feel like a kid,” Pirtle-Wright said, tears leaving streaks down their face.
What started off as a summer trip on the powwow circuit, turned into a yearlong stay in Chiloquin, living with family members from the Klamath Tribes.
Pirtle-Wright described being able to let her guard down, being surrounded by other kids with similar lived experiences.
“[Before], I was the homeless kid. I was the kid who showed up late and slipped into classes. I was the kid who got in fights with the teachers,” Pirtle-Wright said, describing their sixth grade year in Portland. “I was the tribal kid, the brown kid, and when I got to Chiloquin, I wasn’t the only one.”
She participated in school in ways she hadn’t been able to before, as she sometimes worried about how to get her and her siblings their next meals. She began to explore interest in metal shop, drama classes and cooking classes.
At the beginning of the next school year, on her 14th birthday, Pirtle-Wright was forced to move home. Handed a one-way ticket from her auntie, they packed up their belongings and met their mom, out of substance abuse treatment, at the train station in Portland. Her mom, Jennifer Pirtle, has now been in recovery for eight years.
Pirtle-Wright’s time in Chiloquin represents a sense of security and stability for them to this day.
“I’ve never felt at home before until I came here and [my auntie] told me, ‘Well, it was the land that was calling your spirit here. This is your home now. The land recognizes you,’” they said.
Community protector
The rocks overlooking Willamette Falls are a place Pirtle-Wright comes to when they need a moment of calm and space to reflect on the community that helped shape her.
“When I pray in the morning, I thank Creator and I ask him to bless everyone that I’ve ever said ‘I love you’ to or that has said ‘I love you’ to me,” said Pirtle-Wright.
Pirtle-Wright’s traditional name is Blywas Sn’eweets, which translates to “Golden Eagle Woman.” They were given the name by their auntie, Georgene Nelson-Wright, who is the language director of the Klamath Tribes.
It was at those rocks on Sept. 22 that Pirtle-Wright found out she had landed her new role as a peer support specialist for the Youth Housing Services (YHS) program at the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), a nonprofit in Portland, Oregon that provides culturally specific programs and services for the urban Native community.
This marks a return of sorts for Pirtle-Wright, who graduated from Many Nations Academy at NAYA in 2022. And a chance to give back to her community, as one of her goals has always been to share the knowledge she gains in life.
The oldest of six, and often called a “young elder” by their community, Pirtle-Wright is a fierce protector of those they love. From standing up to bullies all throughout middle and high school to openly calling out her own alleged abuser online.
“Growing up, I used to think, ‘Well, why do I have such big shoulders?’ The reality is because I was gifted the strength to be able to not carry just my own struggles, but those before me and those after me,” they said. “That’s one of my jobs in this life, is to help people.”
For Pirtle-Wright’s mom, Jennifer Pirtle, Siletz, this has been clear since Pirtle-Wright was a young kid. Watching them be a caring and fierce big sister to five siblings is one of the things that makes their mother the most proud.
She gave birth to Pirtle-Wright at 19, when she was just a kid herself. Because of that Pirtle says that they really raised each other.
When asked about what makes her most proud of Pirtle-Wright, the list goes on and on.
“Everything about that kid makes me proud,” Pirtle said. “I always say that she’s my hero and she’ll say that I’m hers.”
Inspired by ‘the women before me’
In 2014, Pirtle-Wright’s mom got her “111” or one-eleven markings. Inspired by the strong women in her bloodline, she got the traditional chin tattoos as a way to honor her heritage.
While everyone’s design is different, for Pirtle, her tattoo stands for “courage, honor and strength.
“I was told that those lines are already there,” Pirtle said. “You’re just making it permanent. 111’s are our right.”
After getting hers, Pirtle says she always knew Pirtle-Wright would one day get their own.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, as the first woman in her family to bring back traditional chin tattoos, Pirtle-Wright got her 111 back in February. The traditional tattoos mark a transition from girlhood to womanhood.
“I have a lot of proud moments of her, but that is probably one of the top,” Pirtle said, reflecting on being in the room and watching Pirtle-Wright’s 8-year-old sister hold her hand through the tattoo process.
For many generations following colonization and the U.S. Indian boarding school’s attempted genocide, the tattoos were not practiced in Pirtle-Wright’s family.
For Pirtle-Wright, her chin tattoo is in part for her grandmother who passed away in 2019 before getting the tattoo herself.
Pirtle-Wright remembers the summer before, at Siletz Culture Camp, helping their grandmother draw the 111 on her face with a sharpie.
“I’ve never seen her smile that big. Then she died before she could get it,” Pirtle-Wright said. “I think that’s what hurts me the most is I got to be Indian before my grandma did. But I’m doing it for her too.”
Pirtle-Wright has many family members that she looks up to as inspiration in their life.
Many of them are matriarchs, like her own mother.
“I take a lot of my strengths from the women before me,” Pirtle-Wright said. “I take in their stories. I’m a fourth generation abuse survivor, and that stops with me.”
Pirtle, in recovery for the past eight years, has worked to break patterns for her children. From raising her kids connected to culture and getting the 111 to going to school and serving as the Native nations coordinator at Portland Community College (PCC). Pirtle has served as a community health worker at Native Wellness Institute and Future Generations Collaborative since 2020.
In June, Pirtle-Wright graduated from PCC with their associates degree in science and general studies. Just like her mom, Pirtle-Wright also served as the Native nations coordinator.
“It’s really cool getting to follow my mom’s footsteps in a way, because she also just graduated last year, with her bachelor’s in social work,” Pirtle-Wright said. “So it’s really cool to have been a part of my mom’s school journey, and then to be in school at the same time.”
Healing through creative expression
Pirtle-Wright is a dancer, beader, singer, archer, artist and so much more.
They have been dancing since they were nine years old and have always wanted to dance in both men’s and women’s categories.
In Sept. 2023, they served as the first Two-Spirit Head Dancer at NAYA’s 11th annual Neerchokikoo Powwow.
“I’m Two Spirit. I was raised by both very strong women and very strong men,” Pirtle-Wright said. “Both energies taught me how to be.”
Their beadwork has become fairly well known across Portland, as she and her mom often post pieces on Facebook. In particular, her dentillium sets including a chest plate, hair ties, choker and earrings.
On Sept. 22, at the rocky hill overlooking Willamette Falls, Pirtle-Wright brought a number of her creations. They wore a matching dentalium chest plate and earring set along with a “Land Back” medallion they beaded last fall.
“[Summer] started off rough,” Pirtle-Wright said.
Pirtle-Wright openly talks about struggles with mental health throughout their life. Through it all, besides having a strong community of those she loves, connection to culture has been an important part of their journey.
“Crafting has been the only thing that’s kept me afloat these last couple of months,” Pirtle-Wright said.
In her role at NAYA as a peer support specialist, Pirtle-Wright is working as a mentor. They bring traditional medicines and crafting to their work as a space for healing for their peers.
“It’s been absolutely healing for my heart, as well, so far,” Pirtle-Wright said.
One of her favorite pieces she has ever created is her beaded graduation cap, which Pirtle-Wright holds up with a sense of pride, remembering the long hours that went into it.
This fall, they launched a small business called Thunder Woman Creations after the name their dad gave her, Imena Sn’eweers. Their goal with the business is to sell their beadwork and teach others how to do the same.
This month, she is leading a moccasin making class and hopes to do more classes down the line.
“I mostly want people to be able to learn because it helps with mental health, spiritual health, physical health, and even some financial health,” Pirtle-Wright said. “I’m just excited to see where this work brings me.”
They hope to be the auntie that young family members can turn to, asking for help making moccasins, sewing regalia and beading.
“When I was a baby, I never had a cradle board or a first pair of moccasins, or an Indian name, or anything,” Pirtle-Wright said. “I was just born into addiction. Love, but addiction. But my kids, they’re gonna have all that. They’re gonna have everything.”
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