She already had that smile, those enchanting eyes, and the wisdom of the ages written upon her brow. Her grandfather, Sunshine Blackwater, wept when first he laid eyes upon Eva Rose. For in her he saw and felt the joyous spirit of her grandmother, Eva Blackwater.

Princess J was born from two families blessed with amazing grandmothers. On her mothers side was Rose, a hearty survivor of nearly a century with a wry wit matched only by wisdom born of her life experience. Rose embraced all who came near with her soul. She passed an artistic legacy onto her descendants that grows exponentially with each generation.

Eva Blackwater lived through 93 snows in the Upper Plains. A gentle and gracious woman, Eva mixed traditional tribal values with pragmatic adjustments to the changing society. Throughout her life she demonstrated to all, the greatest strength of our ancestors on this continent: the ability to adapt with the changes of the seasonal climate, whether environmental or societal.

Thus, Princess Jessica Eva Rose Blackwater was named for these two spirit-women: Eva & Rose.

Artist
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Attempting one or even several of Princess J's accomplishments in a lifetime would be considered a hugely energetic and successful journey. Here is a young woman who has done all of this and more.

In the 18 years since her birth Princess J has built upon the inspiration of these two grand ladies and the tribe around her. She is a lady who understands and appreciates the gifts endowed upon her and is dedicated to fulfilling her potential.

Princess J possesses the spirit of a cetacean, (dolphins, whales...) as evidenced by her quick connection with dolphins at Sea World in Orlando. Through intense mental energy and a series of hand signals PJ initiated a rapport with the dolphins that baffled the Sea World staff. More than once, dolphin handlers inquired if PJ was secreting food to the mammals, "No, they just know me and come to me. They recognize my gestures." A statement that was scoffed at by one Sea World employee. "They don't do that," she chastised. Yes we do, came the dolphins reply as they continued to seek out and play with their good friend.

PJ was even head-butted by an adolescent dominant male dolphin one morning at Sea World. Typically, she immediately defended the dolphins' actions, "It was this touron next to me. He was teasing one of my favorite guys by dangling a fish trying to make him jump. He finally became frustrated with the touron and flung his head in disgust and thrust forward. He didn't know I was there. He didn't me to hurt me."

Princess J was knocked dizzy from the heavyweight punch, Sea World employees scrambled expecting severe damage, complaints and a hefty lawsuit moved to attempt to mitigate the legal ramifications. But, PJ's concern was for the dolphins, A relieved Sea World management watched on closed-circuit TV as Armond led PJ out of the park as he delighted in her adventurous tale.

What propels PJ? She has been like this since birth, fearless, determined, unstoppable.

Her mother recalls that Jess has always fearlessly embraced the outdoors, "one of my favorite 'Jessi' stories is when, at the age of under 2 years, I found her at the top of that huge old pine out on the forty (she was just following her brothers). I was freaking as she happily waved to me from the very top of that pine!

Armond and the boys had built a jungle gym -- from trees that they felled and stripped on the 40 -- with climbing rungs that were tough for the older boys to climb. The top crawling surface of the N-shaped gym was 8 feet in the air. Armond came home that night to see Jess rocking atop the gym and recalls, "I rushed over to rescue her so Terri wouldn't see her and freak, but Jess just laughed from the top rung and crawled away from me. Then, Terri explained, 'That's nothing, I had to retrieve her from the top of the pine earlier.' I stood there with Erik and Jeremy and wondered how in the hell she got up there."

Jess embraced nature from her earliest days, "Both her and Erik knew that forty acres better than any adult ever could. I remember her amazement at watching turtles hatch in the driveway, and the beavers building their damns, and the tame deer they used to chase from my gardens," her mother proudly recalls.

Jess recently recalled, "Grampa Roger is actually a Scotsman, and I believe I learned some of the most valuable things I know from him. We spent a lot of time out on the forty where he taught me everything from starting a fire with birch bark and two rocks to building a fishing pole out of things found in the forest. (I actually use to be quite the little fisherman, though I left it to the boys to eat what I caught. even then I remember feeling guilty about hurting the little guys that were thrown back) He also taught me things like how to play poker, how to defend myself, how to read animal tracks, all that kinda fun stuff."

Her mother confirmed those earthy lessons, "Jess & Grandpa Roger spent lots of time together when she was little-Grandpa would take the kids out to the 40, and out fishing a lot. Grandpa Roger says he remembers, 'many times chasin' little critters through the woods because Jess wanted to see what kind of critter it was.'

Terri continued, "She could keep up with any boy physically, climbing, running and bike riding."

Princess J began asserting what she felt in her heart early in her life. Mom recalls that, "She was quite scrappy, and I received more than 1 call from a grade school because of her 'outgoingness.' If somebody said something she didn't like, she would let them know, and as a little girl, sometimes that meant she would wallop you! Guess it was form growing up with brothers!"

"On the other side," Mom added, "her aunt Jo got her started early at being 'beautiful'. Jess wasn't 2 or 3 when JO started doing her hair, nails and make-up. JO and Jess spent hours playing with makeup and looking at clothes."

"Jess is beautiful," beamed her mother, "and she knew it at an early age!"

Armond says, "There has never been a cuter little girl, never will be." He continued, "Seriously, that she is physically beautiful is a harbinger of the astounding person inside, the proverbial tip of the iceberg."

Don't parents make you sick? (authors note, feel free to edit this.)

Diversity? Attacking any challenge? "Jess played basketball for 5 years straight," reports mom, "She was always tops on her team, although sometimes her aggressiveness got her in trouble!"

"And Jess might not like to hear this, but she likes being the star! (her billboard of Bryant school still stands that she did in 6th grade, when she did attend school. Mom boasts more, "she was a very good student, always good grades. Although, again her scrappiness got her in trouble with teachers and students alike (not much trouble, minor stuff like disagreeing with teachers, and smacking mean boys.)"

Armond adds, "it all came to a head when she refused to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance due to the fact that she is part native American. I got called into school. Here was a school counselor in Florida facing a Nakota Sioux father. After a few words I promised that this would never be a problem again and promptly withdrew PJ from the school. A few months later, she tested out of high school -- at age 14."

Another strong influence upon PJ was her grandmother, "Helen taught me much about my polish heritage, and many skills I would need to run a household. How to cook efficient meals with little supplies, how to hand sew, crochet, knit. Her and Roger also ran there own restaurant throughout my child hood where I gained much experience as a young waitress."

But, the most profound influence in Princess J's life is her mother, Terri, a lady of immense artistic talent, beauty, gentleness and unwavering devotion to her children.

Thus, it was the synergy of two remarkable people that resulted in the creation of Jess, Princess of the Blackwater Tribe and souls' mate to all of her "sea friends."