L`aatis Nowland, whose Indian name is We’npléhnene (Nez Perce), is a 19-year-old enrolled member of the CTUIR and a 2021 graduate of Nixyaawii Community School. Her parents are Jess Nowland and Trinette Minthorn-Nowland. Látis’s grandparents are Dale Nowland and Maria Montoya, and Armand Minthorn and Teresa Parker. Her great-grandparents are Dewan and JoAnn Nowland, Ravi Montoya and Yvonne “Bunny” Scott, and the late Philip Minthorn Sr. and Loretta Pinkham Alexander, and the late James Parker and Ethel “Tessie” Williams. Látis currently works for The Saddle Restaurant, and following her time as a Happy Canyon Princess plans to enlist in the Oregon National Guard and potentially the United States Marine Corps. She also has plans to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, to study printmaking.
Participation in Happy Canyon is a family affair for Látis; she has been in the night show since she was a baby, carried by her mother on the baby board. Her grandfather, Armand Minthorn, and mother, Trinette, have been narrators of the Native American portion of the show for more than 15 years. Látis’s father, Jess, is the speaker during the Native American dancing portion of each performance of the Pendleton Round-Up. Her great-grandmother Tessie Williams served as Happy Canyon chaperone, following her cousin the late Mary Hines. Tessie was also a former Grand Marshall of the Westward Ho Parade and an inductee into the Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame. Tessie hosted Round-Up and Happy Canyon royalty at an appreciation dinner at the family camp in the Round Up Indian Village.
Látis will join several other family members who have also served as Happy Canyon princesses, including her great aunt Nancy Minthorn, Michelle Spencer, Talia Minthorn, Judy Hines, Buffy Hines, Carina Vasquez-Minthorn, Anna Minthorn and Jacy Sohappy.
Látis’s interests include participating in the CTUIR Tribal Youth Council, serving as both secretary and vice-chair. She also enjoys singing and drumming, attending Pow Wows and drum groups, and learning her native language.