It was during a casting session where she had taken her mother for an audition that Elaine Miles was "discovered" by the producers of the television series Northern Exposure. With no previous acting experience or coaching, Miles soon went on to represent her fellow Native Americans on the show and has continued to do so throughout her career in film and television.
Born and raised in eastern Oregon, Miles is an enrolled member of the Umatilla tribe (which consists of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla) and raised in the Native American heritage of her parents, who descended from the Cayuse and Nez Perce tribes. The family name, Miles, had been given to her grandfather when he was in the Carlisle Indian Boarding School in Pennsylvania.
"I don't talk about my age because my grandmother used to say that your body will hear it and then begin to break down," Miles said.
Growing up, she was raised with her sister in addition to a cousin that was treated as their brother. The three of them, along with their mother, participated in traditional Native American dance competitions, often winning trophies for their performances at Pow Wows held throughout the western United States and Canada.
"Word was received on the reservation (in 1990) that they were casting for this new television show and needed a 65-year-old Native American woman to play the part of a receptionist for a doctor and to be something of the motherly type," Miles recalled. "They called my mom to audition for the part, so I drove her to the audition in Seattle and sat in a waiting area for her to finish."
She continued, "They saw me sitting there and asked if I would come read for the part. At first," she said with a laugh, "I was a little insulted because I knew the character was supposed to be 65 years old. After I read for the part, they asked if I'd be willing to move to LA for the filming if I got the part, and I said that I would."
Miles was told they would soon be back in touch with her. She and her mom went about their lives and were attending a Pow Wow in Canada a couple days after the audition when she received a call from her father telling her that both she and her mother were supposed to be back the coming Monday for another audition.
"At first, I was a little bummed about coming back because we were supposed to go on to a Pow Wow in Alberta," she said. "But we went to the callback on Monday and read again the casting people, Patty Kalles and John Vreeke. They said that I was going to be given the part of Marilyn Whirlwind on the show, and they were going to write my mother in as well."
Pausing, he added, "They said, 'We're going to start filming on Wednesday.' The following Friday, when we were finished for the week, I thanked them for everything, and they said, 'What are you talking about? We have eight episodes to do.' I was so new to all of this that I didn't even know what was going on."
Despite not having any formal training or education in acting, Miles was supported and coached by several of her cast members. Rob Morrow (Dr. Joel Fleischman on the show), she recalls, often helped calm her nerves and adjust to the pace and structure of filming. She never had to relocate to LA because filming was done in Seattle and the nearby community of Roslyn, Washington.
"I was shocked after filming the first season because we were waiting to see if we'd get picked up again by the network," Miles recalled. "The producers said they'd contact us if we did, and I never thought I'd hear from them again."
Northern Exposure ran for six seasons and won seven Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes. Miles mirthfully explained that her son, Dustin, was born in 1994 while she was still filming the series, becoming the first of the "Northern Exposure babies" since other members of the cast and crew also went on to have children.
After the show ended in 1995, Miles filmed a shampoo commercial and appeared in several films such as "Smoke Signals," which was written by, directed by and starred Native Americans. In addition to appearing in other films, she played as Etta the Medicine Woman in two seasons of the Tortonto-based television show "The Rez."
"I really enjoyed working up in Toronto and made more money than I did on Northern Exposure," she said.
Miles has also done some stand-up comedy, which introduced her to Apache comedian Drew LeCapa. The two then appeared in "RezRobics," a fitness and exercise video that was distributed to Native American populations to help encourage fitness and a healthy lifestyle.
"I ended up staying in Seattle because of my son and the local school system," she said. "He went on to graduate high school and joined the Marines, deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq. He served from 2012-2016 and I'm quite proud of him."
The career that Miles has enjoyed was the result of an unexpected encounter at the initial casting for Northern Exposure in 1990, but has been rewarding and afforded opportunities to share her Native American legacy.
"It all goes back to Northern Exposure, and I can still go to places like the grocery store and people come up to me and say how well written the show was and how much they loved my character, Marilyn Whirlwind."
She added. "Acting has provided me outlets to represent my people as a real Native American. In Canada, you see a lot of native people on the news and in commercials but not so much here in the U.S.. Hopefully, we can change that."
Jeremy P. Ämick is the author of the historical compilation "Moments on the Moreau."
Courtesy/Elaine Miles: Elaine Miles is pictured with her mother, Armenia, while the two were filming Northern Exposure in the early 1990s. Miles appeared on all six seasons of the popular television series, playing Marilyn Whirlwind, the receptionist for Dr. Joel Fleischman. She lives in Seattle and has continued to appear in films and television, representing her fellow Native Americans.