♪ (chanting and drums beating) ( Studio See intro music) ♪ ♪ (chanting and drums beating) (girl) I am a member of the Sac and Fox tribe originally from the Great Lakes.

My parents are giving this honor dance for me at the Sac and Fox reservation just right outside of Oklahoma City.

♪ (girl) The ball we're presented at is the Camellia Ball.

Making your debut enables you to know your parents' friends better.

Instead of just being Sarah and Y.D.

's daughter, now you are a person.

♪ ♪ (female narrator) This story is about two girls from two totally different cultures.

Whether you're Tammy Boyd gr owing up in the rural frontier of Oklahoma City or Tiny Lott, growing up in the Southern charm of Mobile, Alabama, the move into adulthood isn't easy.

One of the things that makes it easier is traditions, traditions like the honor dance fo r Tammy as Miss Indian Oklahoma and the Camellia Ball at which Tiny makes her debut into Mobile's society.

We'll follow both of these girls through the preparation of two very different honor dances.

♪ That turned out good, Tiny.

It did!

Did you finish the dress?

Yes, it's all ready.

All I have to do is put a hook on your slip.

Oh, it's so pretty!

Look at it!

Oh, and you put the dangles around the neckline.

Yes, do you want to go try it?

Yeah!

Can I?

You try it, and I'll finish sewing on this.

Holler if you need help.

I will.

Thank you!

(Tiny) I wanted to have my dress made, be cause I think the store-bought ones, there's a chance that you get one like somebody else's.

I like the old-fashioned bell skirt.

I'm an old-fashioned person, and very few dresses are made like that anymore.

I love it!

Turn around and let me zip it up.

(Tiny) The last fitting, she makes sure it fits.

The fitting before, I had to get it taken out because she had taken it in too much from what it was.

So we had to take it out because th ere's nothing worse th an not being able to breathe!

Turn around one more time and let me see the back.

I love the back the best.

I think that's my favorite.

Well, Tiny, I hope you have a good time at the ball.

(Tiny) I' m sure I will.

It 's gonna be fun.

Tiny, have you thought about wearing a string of pearls?

(Tiny) Yes, ma'am, I think that'd look good.

You think it'd be okay with this neckline?

I think it would be beautiful.

Ok, because I didn't know whether to wear something or not.

Pearls?

Yeah, just add a string of pearls.

OK, I will.

♪ ♪ (Tammy, voice-over) The dress I'm wearing was made two years ago.

I've travelled all over in my buckskin dress, and it needs a lot of repairs.

So, when things happen like that, I go to my grandmothers.

Have you done an y beadwork on the drop here?

(woman) Oh, yes...you've lost a lot of beads.

(Tammy) Wh ere did you get the beads?

Your Grandpa had some.

We looked in his bead box and there they were.

(Tammy) I traveled with friends to New Mexico to purchase hides for the dress.

We got the hides on a reservation, and we brought them back.

My grandmother referred me to a lady that could fix my dress, and she cut it out and did the beadwork.

(Mabel) Keeping up your costume is one of the most important things.

I'm putting new strings around your braid ties.

Tomorrow's the big day, so I want you to come out looking... (Tammy, voice-over) I need all the advice I can get, and my grandparents really do help me a lot.

You're going to be honored tomorrow with the highest of honors from the members of the family, the tribe, and the Indians of Oklahoma.

We're very proud of you.

We want you to... act like you're proud and hold your head up when you come out and lead these people.

♪ ♪ (Tiny, voice-over) I started working at Mr. Moore's jewelry store about three months ago.

When I looked at the calendar and saw that we had almost 70 parties to go to, I realized it was definitely gonna be a problem.

Mr. Moore was real sweet about it.

I talked to him and showed him my calendar.

He's let me off for everything I've asked to be off for, because he knows what a special time it is for me.

I think all these would be too big.

I chose the pearls that I did, because the dress had no gold and nearly no silver.

All you see is pink and white, so pearls just seemed to be the natural thing to wear, if you're gonna wear anything.

It's a beautiful little strand.

You might try that and see if the length seems correct.

Ok. Oh, I think this would be just perfect.

Let's see.

Okay.... something like that?

♪ ♪ This is really a pretty feather.

Where did you get it from, Grandpa?

A friend of mine gave it to me.

(Tammy) I like that.

It'll be all right.

(voice-over) At the dance, I'll carry a fan, and it was made by my grandfather.

I really do like it.

It's really pretty.

I'm gonna fix it and put it in this fan right here in the middle.

(Tammy, voice-over) It's really time-consuming, because you have to put these feathers in a certain way.

They lay certain ways because that's how they were on the bird.

Well, Grandpa, I got to go.

I gotta get things ready for tomorrow.

Okay.

So, if you could just bring my fan tomorrow to the dance, I'd really appreciate it.

Okay.

I'll do that.

(Tammy) Feathers are something that Indians really treasure.

Different birds mean different things to different tribes.

To us, water birds and eagles are really precious birds.

♪ ♪ (Tiny) We're presented at the Camellia Ball, and we carry big bouquets of camellias.

There's a tradition at the Camellia Ball that people that care about you or friends of your family, they send camellias.

And they send the flowers to the auditorium.

Afterwards, they take all your flowers and bring them to your house the next day, and you see who has given them to you.

[ribbon rustling] ♪ Food is the most important pa rt of the celebration, really.

It's just a big feast, and you feed the whole tribe.

Indians look forward to that big meal.

The food is made over an open fire.

We have Indian corn that we bought and fry bread and meat gravy.

That's boiled meat and gravy mixed together.

I asked Katie to come out and help with the meal.

She's really known for her outstanding fry bread.

She's got her own recipe, and that's one of the main reasons I asked her to come and help me out with the dinner.

Fry bread is something the Indians really always look forward to.

It's a special part of the meal.

We serve all the guests that come to the dance.

I don't have to help out, but I feel like I should volunteer my services because it's in my honor.

I enjoy seeing the guests come to eat dinner with me, so it's really neat.

♪ ♪ (woman) How's it going?

I'm almost ready.

Oh, good.

Mama, you look pretty.

Thank you, thank you so much!

Turn around.

That looks pretty.

(voice-over) When Mama watches me get ready for the ball, I think she would be thinking about her last girl going to the Camellia Ball after having three ahead of me.

She would be thinking how proud she was, I imagine, and that she loved me.

I think that'll be fine.

Okay, great.

(voice-over) Mama will give advice, but she's not nagging at all.

She just tells me just because she wants to.

Shall I get Daddy?

Well, I guess it's almost time.

(Tiny) Ar e those the gloves?

Yeah.

Good.

Here are your gloves.

Now, do you have everything for your pocketbook?

I think I do.

Do you have your lipstick?

How about your invitation?

(Tiny) I got it.

Good.

Remember to carry your flowers low, stand up very straight-- All right.

--and walk with your legs, not your head, shoulders, and body.

Okay?

And I'll put on a big smile.

Please do that.

(voice-over) My father has been through this three times before me.

Twenty years ago was his first Camellia Ball with my oldest sister.

He is always anxious to get us down there, get us ready, and have us all prepared for anything that's gonna come.

You ready?

Gonna fix my hair.

I'll be in the car.

All right.

Fine.

(Tiny) People asked if my parents were making me do this.

Heavens, ever since I've been a baby I've been wanting to do this.

Some people look down on it, but I've grown up with it, and I think it's fun.

[background chatter] Once you get down to the auditorium, they get you ready in your pink dress so that they can take the pictures.

♪ We've gotten the dresses made and the shoes dyed.

Everybody's gotten their makeup an d things for their hair.

Beauty parlors have been waiting to fix everybody's hair.

It's a lot of preparation.

I hope everything turns out perfectly tonight.

♪ ["The Way You Look Tonight," instrumental version] (male announcer) Good evening and welcome to the 25th Anniversary Camellia Ball.

We present the debutantes of Mobile.

♪ Miss Katherine Lott, daughter of Mr .

and Mrs. Yancey Davis Lott, presented by her father.

[applause] ♪ ♪ Making your debut enables you to know your parents' friends better.

Instead of just being Sarah and Y.D.

's daughter, you are a person.

You're not a little girl anymore.

It's like you've grown up, and they tell you that people are not Mr. and Mrs. anymore.

They're Joe and Mary Jane.

♪ (Tammy) I usually don't use the Indian makeup.

The colors are really showing in my dress and my hair ties.

(woman) Yo u want me to help you?

(Tammy) My mother usually helps me get my top on straight.

She ties the hair ties on for me.

I really like it when she helps me because I feel like with her there, it's got to be beautiful.

My dad usually checks me over.

I ask him to look over the whole co stume to see if it's right before I go out there and start dancing.

♪ [chanting and drumming] When I enter the arena, there's really not a big deal made.

The ladies around the drums and arena will usually loo-loo, a high-pitched sound, and the men usually yelp because they have a great feeling inside.

They're happy for what I've accomplished.

That drum is the most respected thing of the whole dance.

♪ [chanting] We start off our program by doing the gourd dance.

They have gourds and put rocks in these.

That's how the sound comes out in the gourd.

War dancing, it's a ceremony.

The young men went off to war, they had this dance.

War dancing is usually led by the head man dancer because the men have a lot more respect than the ladies do.

After the men have started, the head lady dancer starts.

♪ [chanting and drumming] For the two-step, I asked Buzz Culbertson to dance with me because he came all the way from Poplar, Montana.

♪ [chanting and drumming] ♪ (male announcer) Ladies and gentlemen, at this time family and friends would like to honor our Miss Indian Oklahoma, Tammy Boyd.

♪ [chanting] (Tammy) Th e climax of the whole dance is when I have my special song, my special dance, and they start singing.

I lead the people, and they follow behind me.

♪ [chanting and drumming] Giving and getting gifts is a really important part of the dance.

It's just a great feeling.

You just have to have it inside you, I guess.

But Indians are really kind of soft-hearted.

They always have to give something away.

♪ [chanting and drumming] ♪ ...the oldest of the family.

(Tammy) I've given away two feathers.

These feathers are really something special.

They have to be handled a certain way by the eldest of the family.

My grandfather is really old.

I asked him to give these feathers to Chad Johnson and to Michelle.

The fan I've given Michelle, my grandfather worked on the day before.

I loved that fan, and I treasured it ever since I had it.

I gave it away because she really is special to me too.

It's just something to see all these people there that are involved with me being Miss Indian Oklahoma.

This dance is just as much in honor of my friends and all the people that have helped me as it is for me.

♪ [chanting] ♪ ♪ ["Joy To The World," instrumental version] ♪ (male announcer) We lcome to "Youth on the Move."

Tonight we've got something special for you.

It's our second annual Christmas party, and you're invited.

There will be Christmas music, punch, cookies, presents, and some special surprises.

(male director) Good...cut.

Hold it.

Hold it.

Let's do that for real this time, okay?

Let's go for picture and do this for a keep.

Ready to role tape, please.

Role tape.

Ready, camera three.

Standby to cue James.

Give me the mikes and cue three.

♪ ♪ (announcer) We lcome to "Youth on the Move."

Tonight we've got something special for you.

It's our second annual Christmas party, and you're invited.

There will be Christmas music, punch, cookies, presents, and some special surprises.

Now, let's look in and see what's happening.

♪ (man) Merry Christmas, everyone.

(all) Merry Christmas.

Is the party ready?

(all) Yes.

The tree's looking great.

How about the punch and cookies?

(all) Just fine.

(man) Oh , our "Youth on the Move."

Lily Mae, isn't this wonderful?

Isn't it beautiful?

Christmas is a happy time.

Gonna have some Christmas carols for us?

Sure.

Merry Christmas.... Merry Christmas.

(voice-over) Our group is the Dallas Youth on the Move Singers.

We're part of the Youth on the Move Community Church.

Youth on the Move always does a Christmas special on TV.

My kids love to do that tv special, because it brings Christmas into the home of all of the families that view our program.

Merry Christmas.

I'd like you to do "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and everywhere, Jesus Christ is born.

One, two, let's sing.

♪ Go tell it on the mountain, ♪ ♪ over the hills, and everywhere.

♪ ♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ ♪ that Jesus Christ is born.

♪ ♪ Go tell it on the mountain, ♪ ♪ over the hills, and everywhere.

♪ ♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ ♪ that Jesus Christ is born.

♪♪ ♪ (James) When I first arrived in the community and opened the center in September of '75, I would say 99% of our kids were in trouble.

When I met them, they all were in the street and mixed up in one thing or another.

♪ ♪ What you gonna do with that charis?

I'm gonna sit in it.

That don't make sense!

♪ (girl) The first day of Youth on the Move started with a baseball bat and a ball.

We saw Reverend James in front of the center.

He had a baseball bat and a ball, and so we went on the side of the center and started playing baseball.

And that day, well, we registered over 200 people.

♪ ♪ The neighborhood was in poor condition.

The houses was all broke into; th e windows was all broken out.

It was just in poor shape.

When Reverend James came here, things straightened back out.

People started moving back out here.

♪ (James) Youth on the Move travels quite a bit, and we've gone to a lot of other ci ties and places and states, but it doesn't make any difference how much success we've had in Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles or an y other place that we've gone.

There's always that time to return back home and keep the work going at home.

♪ (man) Re verend James, ev erything's ready.

Great, great.

All right, gang, let's come out.

♪ ♪ What do you have for us?

We have ten boxes of apples, ten boxes of oranges.

Well, gee, that's enough to serve about 2,500 kids.

Easy.

That's gonna make a real good Christmas.

(voice-over) When businessmen saw Youth on the Move and what it was doing for the community, they decided to help out in every way they could.

And some was helping out by giving fruit, and some was helping out by giving nuts for our Christmas program to give out to our community to underprivileged children that is not as fortunate as others.

Thank you very much and Merry Christmas.

Yea!

(James) The thing that we're teaching at Youth on the Move is that it starts with oneself.

Success starts with the individual.

Welcome.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Welcome.

Welcome.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Welcome.

Welcome.

[indistinct chatter] (organ music) ♪ ♪ Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

We're so happy-- Merry Christmas.

(audience) Merry Christmas.

You can do better than that.

Merry Christmas!

(audience) Merry Christmas!

All right!

That's a lot better!

It's good to see all of you.

Youth on the Move does this every year to let you know someone cares.

We're showing the love of Jesus Christ because if it hadn't been for him, none of this would have been possible.

Everyone stand now... and let's sing "Joy To The World."

It is a joyful time.

One, two, let's sing.

♪ Joy to the world the Lord is come.

♪ ♪ Let Earth receive her King.

♪ ♪ Let every heart prepare Him room.

♪ ♪ And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, ♪ ♪ and heaven and heaven and nature sing.

♪ ♪ He rules the world... ♪ (boy) I think the people think he's really nice.

It's not like welfare or anything because we're doing this to put the Christmas spirit in people's hearts.

When we give these gifts, we're doing it from our hearts too.

♪ ...and wonders and wonders of His love.

♪♪ ♪ I found the answer when I learned to pray.

♪ ♪ With God to guide me, well, I found my way.

♪ ♪ The sun is shining, shining and shining on me each day ♪ ♪ 'cause I found the answer when I learned to pray.

♪♪ Hallelujah!

[applause] "Studio See" wants poems and ideas from everybody that watches the show.

If you have any, just put them in an envelope and send them to...

Remember, get them there fast... any way you can.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [laughter] (voice-over) Major funding for this program is provided by this television station and other television stations .

Additional funding was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

♪