Happy Late Birthday, Kaya!
Yesterday is August 15, the day that American Girl likes to commemorate as Kaya's birthday. I thought my blog would automatically post for it since I programmed it for all of the dolls's birthdays, but for some reason Kaya's didn't go through! I feel so bad for Kaya, because I love her, but to celebrate a day later, here's some fun facts about Kaya and her birthday!
Kaya'aton'my is Kaya's full name. In Nimiipuu, the name of Kaya's Native American tribe, it means 'She Who Arranges Rocks'.
Since Kaya's story is set before European settlers colonized the part of America she lived on, Kaya doesn't live in a specific state. The present day Nimiipuu, or Nez Perce, people currently live on a reservation in Idaho, but they lived across the entire Pacific Northwest region before colonization.
In accordance to the Nimiipuu tribal custom of not showing your teeth when you smile, Kaya's mold was customly sculpted to have her mouth closed.
Development of Kaya, who was released in 2002, started in 1997, five years before her release.
This was the last doll to be worked on by Pleasant Rowland before she retired from American Girl in 2000.
Kaya was the first American Girl doll to break from the standard naming custom for Central Series books.
Kaya's designated birthday, August 15, was also the day in 2002 that the doll and her collection was presented to the Nez Perce tribe.