The story of Kaya is the story of how I started modeling! When I was 9 my mother truly wanted me to take my eyebrows and my figure and become a model. I didn't want this but I was willing to do anything to make her happy. She had us go to a popular hotel chain in Amherst NY during an open modeling audition and she sold them the rights to my portfolio! They chose the picture of me holding my favorite stuffed animal (a husky puppy) with my hair in pig tails, and I was wearing a mandala covered tweety bird shirt. My mom submitted an "about me" that explained my sister Ruby ("Rain") and my best friend, Tim ("Two-Hawks"), and my favorite animal was wolves. I wrote, drew and talked about wolves non-stop.


I attended Native American Magnet School 119 when I was in Kindergarten until 2nd grade due to my genealogy.
We are 100% Grants but we also do have Native blood in us, this was also verified in Ancestry.com. I do not have enough Native blood in me to claim a tribe or blanket. I have shown my support through my efforts toward the Natives in Buffalo as well as supporting the legacy of Ely S. Parker.
So yes, Kaya is based on a real Native American! No, she isn't closing her mouth because of tradition, I had my mouth closed in the picture because I was shy about my teeth. If I tan outside I get incredibly dark. We were raised knowing we were Native but never adhered to any one tribe. I have never sold Native American goods nor represented myself as a Native. I have always checked "white" on paperwork simply because we didn't have any proof of Native ancestry, just spoken word. My grandmother on my mother's side was an unwed Grant. We even had a Grant family mine in the Virginias. It never turned up anything good.

I am not affiliated with American Girl Dolls in anyway and I am not paid for my story or opinion. I just love that she has inspired so many girls to be their best!