by Edmund Frazer Myer
Amandaree Fox, 23 year-old from Spokane, will see history being made while she puts her new degree in Marketing to work this summer as an intern with the Department of Public Engagement for the Democratic National Convention.
Fox is enrolled with the Colville Confederated Tribes, and she’s a descendant of Mandan, Hidatsa, and Umatilla. She said she chose WSU because her mom is an alum. She wanted to continue the family tradition, and stay close to home.
Depending on how the summer works out for her, she’s considering working for the Democratic National Convention. There’s a lot of marketing involved to the Democratic National Convention, including public relations aspects such as consumer behavior and advertising, said Fox.
Her other passion where she hopes to one-day work is the fashion industry. That interest helped her decide on marketing as a major because it plays a huge role in that industry. She’s interested in the business and psychology aspects of the field.
“I love fashion, it’s one of my favorite things in the world,” Fox said.
She explained that she noticed early on that she was interested in fashion. “I’m passionate about beadwork,” Fox said. One of the main things she enjoys about fashion is how designers are integrating beadwork in their designs.
She said that she wants to help Native designers and would like to work for “Native Max” fashion magazine in Denver. She’s also really interested in working for the N7 brand for NIKE.
While her career options are unlimited, she wants to take a year off from school to get a feel for the real world, before deciding if she wants to enroll in a specific graduate school program. She’s also considering a career in law.
Her first semester here was kind of rough, finding friends and being away from her family. She said that former Native American retention specialist Franci Taylor helped her become more confident and more comfortable with her schooling.
Over the years she also started to get more involved on campus. She was vice-chair of the Native American Women’s Association, a member of Ku-Ah-Mah, the Marketing Club, and the Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles Student Organization. Fox said being a part of the clubs helped with networking and provided insight into her potential professions.
Additionally, at WSU’s 39th annual Pah-Loots-Puu Powwow, Fox was chosen as the 2015-16 Miss Pah-Loots-Puu. She said this helped her with her with her public speaking skills, and encouraged her to open up more.
As Miss Pah-Loots-Puu she went to numerous powwows, community service events, and sporting events. She dropped the puck at a Spokane Chiefs game. She helped welcome the crowd at WSU women’s basketball’s annual Native American night game. Also, she met Cheyenne Brady, the 2015 Miss Indian World, who is also part Hidatsa and a college graduate from North Dakota State University.
“It’s’ pretty cool to see that there are all these women that that are promoting higher education,” Fox said.
“I know from living on a reservation that there are many people who don’t graduate high school,” said Fox. One reason Fox wanted to serve as Miss Pah-Loots-Puu was, “to show everyone that there are Natives here at WSU.” She said when she introduces herself she lets everyone know as Miss Pah-Loots-Puu she is a representative of the university.
It has been an inspiration, “to see that there are people that graduate from universities and go to universities, and are planning on using their education to contribute back to their communities.”