Elaine Miles (born April 7, 1960) is a Native American actress best known for her role as Marilyn Whirlwind in the television series Northern Exposure. She is an enrolled citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Early life Elaine Miles was born in Pendleton, Oregon. She is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation with Cayuse/Nez Perce ancestry. She lived on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon until age three. Her family then moved to Renton, Washington, where her father was a Boeing machinist.
She learned skills and Indigenous art techniques in her youth, such as storytelling, beading, pottery and weaving, and she is a prize-winning powwow dancer.
Career Miles was offered the role of Marilyn Whirlwind when she was spotted in the waiting room at an audition. This came as a surprise as she had not come with any intent to audition—she was only there to give her mother, Armenia Miles, a ride.
In 1995, Miles was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the Northern Exposure cast in the category, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.Awards for Elaine Miles at IMDbPro: Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved September 26, 2009
Since Northern Exposure, Miles has done tours with her dancing and stand-up comedy, has emceed at numerous powwows, and had roles in independent films such as Smoke Signals, Skins and The Business of Fancydancing. With fellow comedian Drew LaCapa (Apache), she has made an exercise video ("RezRobics") addressing diabetes rates among Native Americans. The video mixes powwow dancing, martial arts, and aerobics moves with nutritional advice. In contrast to the usual FBI warning, the creators encourage people to copy the video freely and distribute it among friends and relatives in Indian Country.Rez Robics
Detention In November 2025, Miles alleged that while waiting for a bus with her son and uncle in Redmond, Washington, she was detained by ICE federal agents who claimed her tribal identification card was "fake". The agents left after she attempted to call the tribal enrollment office. Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary, denied that Miles's tribal ID was considered fake.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1990–1995 Northern Exposure Marilyn Whirlwind TV series, 110 episodes 1994 Bill Nye, the Science Guy self documentary, TV series, 2 episodes 1995 Mad Love Housekeeper feature film 1996 The Rez Mad Etta TV series, 18 episodes 1996 Pandora's Clock Housekeeper TV mini-series, 2 of 2 episodes 1998 Scattering Dad TV movie 1998 Smoke Signals Lucy feature film 2002 The Business of Fancydancing Kim feature film 2002 Skins Rondella Roubaix feature film 2003 Images of Indians: How Hollywood Stereotyped the Native American self, archive footage documentary, TV movie 2007 Tortilla Heaven Caridad feature film 2008 Fry Bread Babes self documentary, short film 2009 Wyvern Deputy Barnes TV movie 2012 Universal VIP N'ah short film 2012 By the Salish Sea Salish Woman voice, short film 2014 Four Quarters Mrs. Burke feature film 2015 Fishing Naked Louise 'Grandma' Ottertale feature film 2019 Juanita Mountain feature film 2023 The Last of Us Florence Episode: "Kin"
References
External links
Interview with Elaine Miles RezRobics Youtube Channel