Elaine Miles

Elaine Miles is an American actress known for her role as Marilyn Whirlwind in the television series Northern Exposure.

Elaine Miles was born in Pendleton, Oregon, of CayuseNez Perce ancestry, and lived to the age of three on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in eastern Oregon. Her family then moved to Renton, Washington, where her father was a Boeing machinist. She learned many of the traditional skills in her youthstorytelling, beading, pottery and weavingand is a prizewinning traditional dancer.

Source: Wikipedia