BIOGRAPHY
Avanelle “AJ” No Braid (she/her) is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara) from Ft. Berthold, ND. Her Hidatsa name is Owaghadahagush which means “Stays Light”. She is married to Asay No Braid and has two daughters, Larissa and Lara No Braid. AJ is a US Army Veteran and served her military time at both Ft. Meade, MD and Ft. Detrick, MD. She grew up in Denver, CO and has lived on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota for the past 12 years.
AJ has more than 50 years of powwow dance experience and has danced the styles of fancy shawl, jingle and women’s northern traditional. She has served as Head Dancer at many powwows and has participated in dance performances throughout the Great Plains area. More notably, AJ performed for US President Reagan during Night of the First Americans at the Kennedy Center and also for President Clinton at the G8 Summit Performance in Denver, CO. A former royalty title holder, she served as Miss White Buffalo Council and Miss Indian Nations I. AJ and her husband were Drum Coordinators for Denver March Powwow for over 20 years. She has also served as Royalty Coordinator for DMP. Both she and her husband have helped coordinate powwows in both Colorado and South Dakota. AJ has experience in traditional arts, and is a longtime seamstress of powwow dance regalia, With over 40 years of beadwork experience, AJ has created many dance outfits for family and friends. She was previously a CEU Instructor for ribbon skirt making, shawl making and beadwork at Oglala Lakota College.
AJ graduated summa cum laude with her undergraduate degree from Oglala Lakota College in Business Administration with an emphasis in management. Most recently she completed a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Colorado State University. Having lived in Denver, CO for over 30 years she worked at non-profit organizations as well as other businesses such as HealthONE and tw telecom. She worked as a Human Resources Representative at HealthONE. While working at tw telecom she not only gained telecom experience in various positions but was given the Summit of Leaders award which included an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii. Upon moving to South Dakota, she worked with the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s Access to Recovery program as the Outreach Coordinator. Most recently she worked as Center Director for Pahin Sinte College Center at Oglala Lakota College. In 2019 she was awarded Center Director of the Year. In 2024 her team was given the Non-Academic Assessment Award for OLC. AJ is proud to join First Peoples Fund as a Program Manager at Oglala Lakota Artspace and is looking forward to promoting the organization’s mission and vision.
