Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team

The Chi-ettes In Fall 1951, girls from the Chinese Baptist Church created the Chi-ettes, a club for Chinese American girls across schools and neighborhoods. The group's name combined "Chi-" from "Chinese" with "-ette" to denote a small group of young women. It began with fourteen girls who attended Garfield, Franklin, and Cleveland High Schools. The club soon grew to 22 members, all 15-18 years old, and created a new chapter for 12-14 year olds. The club hosted dances, social events, and community service projects, with the goal of uniting girls within Seattle's Chinese community and helping serve that community. That same year, the Chong Wa Benevolent Association sponsored a Seafair act by a Chinese girls drill team from Victoria, B.C. Ruby Chow was the association's public-relations chair at the time, as well as a successful local restaurateur. Another Chinese girls drill team, the St. Mary's Girls Drum and Bell Corps from San Francisco, performed at the Chinatown Night parade in 1951. Sandra Chow, a member of the Chi-ettes, saw the team perform and raised the idea of forming a Seattle team at the next Chi-ette meeting. The Chi-ettes decided to create the team out of their club and wanted Ruby Chow to join as an advisor because she was a local community leader. The chapter's president, Foon Woo, pitched the idea to Chow, who was enthusiastic and agreed to be the team's director. The team began in 1952, practicing on Saturdays on 7th Avenue outside the Chong Wa Benevolent Association. Their organization mimicked the Seattle Police Department Drill Team's, with a captain and two lieutenants, both leading a team of 16 girls divided into four squads. They first performed in Summer 1952 and competed in 1953, winning the Seattle Seafair Grand Parade and three other awards that year. They did not drill in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic. Della Chen produced a documentary on the team in 2022, She Marches in Chinatown. The documentary team interviewed around 50 members and alumni of the group, and the film included archival footage from 2002 of Ruby and Cheryl Chow. == Culture ==

The drill team served as a supportive and social opportunity for Chinese American girls in the 1950's and 1960's. She also recalled that societally, girls were treated secondarily to boys, and women considered to be supporters for men. For many traditional Chinese families in Seattle, the drill team was one of the few activities girls were allowed to join. Ruby Chow hoped the team would instill confidence and achievement in its members. She wanted all the girls to feel like equals who obtained success as a team, regardless of position, family money, or neighborhood. The team also served to support cultural pride and ambassadorship in a city with anti-Asian prejudice. As part of their training, Ruby Chow taught the girls to react non-violently and maintain dignity when confronted by racism and harassment. Some audiences spoke slurs and derogatory comments at the team during their marches, and one member recalled that racism was worse in their Seattle performances than in rural towns. Initially, many team members lived in Chinatown or Beacon Hill, but they later lived in many neighborhoods as Seattle's Chinese American community spread geographically. The team then served as a way for girls to connect back to Chinatown and local Chinese American history and tradition. In 2022, many team members had multiethnic backgrounds or were adopted and saw the team as a way to connect to Chinese culture. == Performances ==

Chinatown Parade The team's costumes were designed by Ping Chow, evoking women warriors from Cantonese opera. The drill team's repertoire includes over 50 orders and drills. The original team used the St. Andrew's Cross as the finale to their performances, adding a gin-lai for the final moment. In the St. Andrew's Cross, the girls march in an "X" formation. For the gin-lai, the girls would all perform a single bow to the judges. The team has since used the gin-lai to honor elders and other drill teams during performances. == See also ==