For the third consecutive year, Sway-Anne Byrd will compete in the Area Special Olympic Games in her hometown. But for the 14-year-old Cherokee girl, who lives in Havre, Montana, this year’s games will have some added significance. That’s because the teenager, who was born with Down syndrome, will carry the torch during the opening ceremonies of the Games, which will be staged on Wednesday.
The opening ceremonies will feature Byrd running a lap of the school’s track with the ceremonial lit torch. Besides carrying the torch, Byrd will also be leading all of the other participants in the games as they too will follow her and run a lap as well. “I’ve only seen adults carry the torch,” Byrd’s mother Amy told ICTMN. “Since she’s only 14, this is pretty cool.”
The coaches of athletes participating in the games as well as some of the volunteers choose one athlete to be the torchbearer at the opening ceremonies. Officials contacted the family a few weeks ago to see if Sway-Anne would be interested in the position. Byrd’s family considers it a huge honor that Sway-Anne was chosen to have a key role in the Games’ opening ceremonies. “It’s like if you were playing football or if you were playing basketball and you win an award,” Amy Byrd said of her daughter’s torchbearer selection. “This is at that level for her.”
Sway-Anne Byrd (Courtesy Amy Byrd)
And the excitement is building as the games approach. Byrd’s mother said her daughter was rather elated on Monday night as she practiced for her lap with the torch. “She was jumping up and down,” she said. “She was so excited.”
The Area Special Olympic Games are held each year in Havre. Should they choose to do so, participants can also take part in the annual Montana Special Olympics. At the state level in Montana there are annual summer and winter Special Olympics. “We haven’t gone to the state games as of yet,” Amy said. “She’s very independent, but it’s a very large atmosphere there. I don’t think she’s quite ready for that yet.”
As she did a year ago, Byrd will participate in four track and field events at Wednesday’s games. She will run in the girls’ 50-metre and 100-metre races in her age group. And she will also take part in the standing long jump event and the softball throw (the shot put equivalent for Special Olympians). At the 2014 games, Byrd captured gold medals in her 50-metre race and standing long jump. And she won silver and bronze medals in her 100-metre and softball throw events, respectively.
The Tulalip Boys & Girls Club flag football team the Chargers, ages 5 to 6, took on their first opponent on April 18, with a game against the Saints from the Everett Boys & Girls Club. No score was kept but the Chargers kept the Saints on their toes and performed beyond expectations. Great Job Chargers!
Six spots are still available on the Chargers team. Head coach is Deyamonta Diaz and assistant coach is Selena Frajman. Practices are every Thursday, 4:30 -5:30 p.m., and Friday 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Tulalip Boys & Girls Club features five flag football team, one t-ball, one coach pitch and two volleyball teams.
Flag football coaches are Michael Hunter, Aletha Tatge, James Madison, Jay Fryberg and Issac Elliot. T-ball coach is Charlita Davis with Gregory Moses coaching for coach and pitch. Jamie Orth and Becca Marteney coach volleyball.
If you are interested in having your child join any of the available teams, please contact Tori Torolova at 360-716-3400.
DENVER (AP) — Legislation to prohibit Native American mascots at Colorado schools unless a tribe approves faces its toughest test in the state Senate.
The proposal passed the House this month by one vote with every Republican opposed. Now it’s up for a vote in a GOP-led Senate committee on Wednesday.
The bill would direct schools to get permission from a panel of tribes to use or continue to use Native American mascots. Schools that don’t get permission would have to stop the use within two years or face a fine of $25,000 a month.
Schools and lawmakers opposed to the bill have cited the costs of switching mascots and updating uniforms as a major concern.
Supporters say the state should not condone derogatory team names at schools.
James Pine, 23, goes on a run Friday afternoon in his southwest Rapid City neighborhood. Pine has been awarded a $10,000 grant to start a youth fitness camp this summer called Lakota Forever Running and Fitness in each of the eight districts of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. (Josh Morgan, Journal staff)
James Pine has his heart set on empowering the Oglala Lakota, both young and old.
And Pine, 23, of Rapid City, has been awarded a $10,000 grant to take his desire and run with it. He is one of 10 recipients of the Dreamstarter grant program, which is administered by Running Strong, an American Indian youth nonprofit based in Alexandria, Va.
Each of the 10 awardees received $10,000 to start youth camps promoting health and wellness across the nation. Each will work with a mentoring nonprofit to help implement their startup camps.
Pine, who works at Dakota Business Center delivering office supplies and installing office furniture, will be working with Dustin Martin, program director for Wings of America in Santa Fe, N.M.
Born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Pine knows firsthand the problems that people there deal with daily.
“There’s not much to do,” he said last week in a phone interview while he was at the Dreamstarter Academy in Washington, D.C. “There are a lot of bad habits. There’s a lot of suicide. There are a lot of drugs and alcohol, and there’s not much to turn to. On a daily basis, a lot of people are bored, and they want to hang out with their friends, and they do bad things.”
An avid runner, Pine said, “I just want to bring my people up. I just want to help them out. I want to be a mentor and a coach. I just want to help the youth, and not even just the youth. I want to help everybody, elders, too, old people, tall, small — anybody.”
This summer, Pine said, he will be starting a series of two-day youth camps, dubbed Lakota Forever Running and Fitness, in eight communities across the reservation. He hopes to start the camps in June, continuing through August.
Pine is a former state-qualifying cross-country and track runner for Pine Ridge High School.
“Running has helped me in a major way, and I don’t even know if I can put it into words, but it was just an awesome thing because when I was younger, growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation, I went through the hardships, just like everyone else,” he said.
Running Strong was co-founded by 1964 Olympic champion Billy Mills, an Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, who to date is the only American to win a gold medal in the Olympic 10,000-meter run.
“Billy Mills, he played an important role in my life,” Pine said. “He was kind of like a hero, just someone to look up to. He was like the glimmer of hope. You know, you see all these NBA stars and these people on TV, and none of them are Native American. Some people get it in their head: ‘Oh, I can never be that,’ but then you look at Billy Mills. He’s a national idol.”
Pine applied to the Dreamstarter Program with friend and colleague Martin. The duo met last summer at a Wings of America program that trained Pine and others to facilitate youth running and fitness camps.
“Immediately, James stepped into a leadership role and was a leader for those facilitators that came down from Pine Ridge,” Martin said. “It was obvious to me that they looked up to him, and they respected his guidance when he gave it. So when we had this opportunity to apply for this grant, it was a no-brainer for me.”
Pine’s father, Dale, has been a long-time supporter of Wings of America running and fitness programs, Martin said. Dale Pine has coached at Pine Ridge High School for more than 25 years.
He is a leading force of Team One Spirit, which facilitates running programs and raises funds for youth on the reservation. The team sent James Pine to run with four other Oglala Lakota runners in the New York City Marathon. The group is collectively called the Lakota Five. Pine finished the 26-mile, 385-yard race with a time of 3:52:31.
Partnering with Pine to start running camps at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is a natural transition from an already strong partnership, Martin said.
“Dale Pine has been a longtime advocate and helper of Wings of America, and I sort of see myself as the next generation of Wings,” he said. “In a lot of ways, I see James as the continuation of that legacy, you know, and myself included, so together, he and I can continue that legacy of Wings working in South Dakota, and particularly in Pine Ridge.”
Pine said Wings of America has granted him an additional $9,000 to start the Pine Ridge running camps, which he said will incorporate games, mentorship and wellness education, all the while promoting the sport of running.
“Everything is going to revolve around running and being healthy and living a good, natural life,” he said. “If you make a game out of it, it’s very interesting and fun to them, even though they will be running the whole time.”
Pine said he will coordinate with schools on the reservation to see what gym space is available for his camps, though there’s always the option of holding them outdoors. He said he will also be seeking sponsorships from local businesses.
Running “took me a lot of places, and it brought me to where I am now,” said Pine, who lives in Rapid City with his girlfriend and 1-year-old daughter. “I’m a dad now. I just changed my life around … I just feel obligated to help my people and give back to the community.”
Members of the Chowchilla High School Marching Band display their “Redskin” banner in 2009. Chowchilla would have to stop using Redskins if the Legislature approves a ban of the name. Lisa James Merced Sun-Star file
Public schools in California would have to stop using the term “Redskins” for their sports teams or mascot if a bill is approved by state legislators.
Assembly Bill 30, authored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, would prohibit schools from using the name beginning Jan. 1, 2017. If the legislation becomes law, California would become the first state to ban the use of Redskins for public schools.
The Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media and the Education Committee have approved the bill. It now heads to the Appropriations Committee before it can go before the full Assembly and then the Senate.
The four high schools in California that still use Redskins as their mascot are Chowchilla in Madera County, Gustine in Merced County, Calaveras in Calaveras County and Tulare Western in Tulare County.
“We’ve been down this road since, I believe, 1996,” said Calaveras Unified School District Superintendent Mark Campbell. “This bill seems to have a better chance to pass.
“I don’t pretend to think some people aren’t offended by the use of Redskins. We understand that and if we have to make a change, we will. Our community doesn’t want it, our Native American community doesn’t want it, but if we have to, we’ll make the change,” Campbell said.
If forced to make the change, Chowchilla and Gustine won’t be as willing.
“We don’t call those offended by the term Redskins, Redskins. We call ourselves Redskins,” said Chowchilla Union High School District Superintendent Ron Seals. “We use the term as a sense of pride, respect and honor. We don’t use it in a derogatory way.
“It’s been our school mascot since the (1920s). In the fall, we’re going to celebrate our 100-year celebration. We are a one-high school town. We’re a small community with lots of alumni and generations of Redskins,” Seals said.
To help offset cost issues, the California Racial Mascots Act would allow schools to continue using uniforms and other items bearing the term Redskins that were purchased before Jan. 1, 2017, if the school selects a new mascot and doesn’t buy new uniforms with the old nickname.
Schools would be able to replace up to 20 percent of uniforms with the old name until Jan. 1, 2019.
The costs of phasing out the name go far beyond uniforms for teams, cheerleaders and bands. There are gyms, scoreboards and other things on campus that would have to be changed.
“We did a study of the costs, and it will cost at least $110,000, and perhaps more,” Gustine Unified School District Superintendent Ronald Estes wrote in an e-mail. “I see this as a local control issue; district school boards should be able to make this type of decision based on local concerns and needs.”
Campbell estimates it would cost roughly $55,000 to $65,000 for Calaveras to eliminate the term Redskins from the school. Anticipating that eventually it would have to change, the school has been using Calaveras more than Redskins on projects around campus.
Estes, Gustine Principal John Petrone and the five GUSD board members signed a letter sent to Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, chairman of the Assembly Education Committee.
In the letter, they write: “We are certainly aware of the sensitivity behind the utilization of the Redskin name. We have heard from Native Americans who have expressed opinions on both sides of the argument. What we have and continue to state emphatically is that at no time in the nearly 80 years we have used the Redskin moniker have we disparaged Native Americans, or portrayed our mascot in a derogatory fashion.”
This isn’t the first time these schools have faced the possibility of making these changes. The use of Redskins as a mascot has been a heated debate, including the NFL’s Washington Redskins. This is the third time state lawmakers have tried to ban the use of Native American terms as nicknames or mascots.
In 2002, a bill calling for the ban of nicknames such as Indians, Braves and Chiefs was introduced but failed. In 2004, Jackie Goldberg, who was then an assemblywoman from Los Angeles, narrowed the bill to ban just Redskins. The bill was passed by the Legislature but vetoed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“There is obviously a lack of respect when we allow teams to brand themselves with racial slurs,” Alejo told the Los Angeles Times. “The R-word was once used to describe Native American scalps sold for bounty, and in today’s society it has become widely recognized as a racial slur.”
Like Estes, Seals feels those decisions should be made at the local level. He said school officials won’t have any discussions about a possible new nickname if and when a law is passed.
“I’m not traveling to Watsonville and calling the legislator a Redskin,” Seals said. “I’m not sitting in my district and telling him what he should do. So for him to sit in his district and tell me what to do in mine doesn’t sit well with me.”
TULALIP – The Tulalip Boys & Girls Club flag football team the Chargers, ages 5 to 6, took on their first opponent on April 18, with a game against the Saints from the Everett Boys & Girls Club. No score was kept but the Chargers kept the Saints on their toes and performed beyond expectations. Great Job Chargers!
Six spots are still available on the Chargers team. Head coach is Deyamonta Diaz and assistant coach is Selena Frajman. Practices are every Thursday, 4:30 -5:30 p.m., and Friday 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Tulalip Boys & Girls Club features five flag football team, one t-ball, one coach pitch and two volleyball teams.
Flag football coaches are Michael Hunter, Aletha Tatge, James Madison, Jay Fryberg and Issac Elliot. T-ball coach is Charlita Davis with Gregory Moses coaching for coach and pitch. Jamie Orth and Becca Marteney coach volleyball.
If you are interested in having your child join any of the available teams, please contact Tori Torolova at360-716-3400.
Members of the Heritage Hawks basketball team. Photo/Micheal Rios
Members of the Heritage Lady Hawks basketball team. Photo/Micheal Rios
On Thursday, April 2, the annual awards banquet was held to recognize the Heritage Hawks basketball players. This year’s banquet took place at Alfy’s Pizza in Marysville. All the Hawks and Lady Hawks players attended, accompanied by their family and friends who cheered them on throughout the basketball season.
Each player from both the Hawks and Lady Hawks teams received a participation award congratulating them for playing varsity basketball. A second award was given to each player that was specifically personalized to commemorate something special they did on the court or brought to the team.
Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg, Lady Hawks coach, opened up the girls’ awards ceremony by thanking each and every one of his players for making the best out of their season, “First of all I’d like to thank everyone for being here and taking the time to come and finish up the season. The girls worked really hard and played really hard and we had fun. Practices were really fun and I thought we really gave the effort I expected. Early in the season there really weren’t many girls playing. We only had five Lady Hawks for our first several games, so we had to really start recruiting girls to come out and play. After we did that, then we had a full team and really started to play. It took a few week to build up that sense of team with all the new girls, but they all played hard. I really want to thank my girls for all their hard work, especially the seniors.
“Going into next year, for the girls coming back, we are going to keep working hard and to continue focusing on improving as a team. We have six girls coming back and we expect to add more girls onto the team. I just want to thank you all for doing what I asked on the floor and off the floor and for making this season a fun one for the players and the coaches. I really appreciated all the hard work we put in to improving and we’ll continue to work on doing better things next year.”
The following list is the name of each personalized award handed out to the Lady Hawks and the player who received the award.
Awards:
Rookie of the Year: Larissa Menser
Most Coachable: Shaelynn Sanchey
Most Dedicated: Cyena Fryberg
Most Inspirational: Mikaylee Pablo
Best Defender: Jaylin Rivera
Most Rebounds: Nina Fryberg
Captain’s Award & Miss Hustle: Myrna Red Leaf
Captain’s Award, Best Offensive Player & Most Outstanding Player: Michelle Iukes
Marlin Fryberg, Hawks coach, opened up the boys’ awards ceremony by saying, “I want to thank all the families who are here to support your children, and I want to say thank you to all the high school faculty staff who are here for our kids. To my players, I hope you all recognize that the time and work you have put into this game together has created a friendship and bond between you all that will last the rest of your lives.
“This season was a mediocre one. We all know that it could have been better, that we could have been better. We’ll use this season and learn from it so that we can continue to develop the team for next year.”
The following list is the name of each personalized award handed out to the Hawks and the player who received the award.
Awards:
Rookie of the Year: Nashone Whitebear
Most Improved: Anthony McLean
Most Rebounds: Willy Enick
Mr. Hustle: Dontae Jones
Captain’s Award: Jessie Louie
Captain’s Award & Best Offensive Player: Robert Miles, Jr.
On Wednesday, April 1, 2015 the Associated Press announced their All-State basketball teams for boys and girls high school players, as voted on by sports writers and editors from around the state. La Conner High School junior and Tulalip tribal member, Adiya Jones, was named to the First Team for all Class 2B girls’ high school players in the state.
Prior to this past year Adiya was the face of the Heritage High School girls’ basketball team. She was part of a successful season in her freshman year, followed by being the focal point of the team’s offense in her sophomore year as she led the team in scoring and rebounding. It was expected she would again be the team’s star player in her junior season, but in a twist she opted to transfer out of Heritage and play at La Conner High School. Adiya and her mother, Charlotte Jones, relocated to the small town of La Conner in order for her to attend the local high school.
Over the next several months Adiya would become part of a new community and lead a new group of teammates on the basketball court. In fact, Adiya excelled at La Conner, both on and off the court, resulting in her being named co-MVP of the Northwest 2B Basketball League and leading her team to a 3rd place finish in the 2B State Tournament. Adiya sat down for an interview with the See-Yaht-Sub to tell her story to her tribal membership.
When did you first start playing basketball?
“I honestly didn’t like basketball when I was younger. I was a long-time cheerleader and loved to dance. Then before 7th grade I hit a growth spurt and being taller now I decided to try out for the basketball team. It didn’t work out. I was cut from the team, but decided at that moment I was going to come back and try out again next year. I worked out that summer and trained with Tori Torrolova, the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club athletic director. She really worked with me on improving my game and teaching me the fundamentals.”
So you’ve only been playing organized basketball for a little over four years then?
“Yeah, looking back I’m still surprised that I’ve accomplished what I have, being that I haven’t played basketball nearly as long as other girls I know. It came to me naturally after working out with Tori and getting help from my coaches along the way.”
Why did you transfer out of Heritage H.S. and why did you choose La Conner H.S. to transfer to?
“I’ve always wanted to go to a much better school academically. I miss Heritage, but I feel like moving up here was huge for me because I have many more opportunities available to me now. Originally, before making the decision, I met with [La Conner basketball coach] Coach Novak to talk about how I’d fit in and what our goals would be. After meeting with him I knew La Conner is where I wanted to go.”
Was it difficult adjusting to a more traditional curriculum?
“The quality of education is a big difference maker. The curriculum at La Conner is completely different. At first it was really hard to adjust. The first week I didn’t think I was going to make it. There’s homework every night. Here, they are prepping us for college. It’s a really good school. I’ve learned so much during this school year. I’m really happy I made the change because I’m learning every day.”
At La Conner you mentioned they have curriculum that really challenges you and helps you to succeed. How so?
“They have TAs and parents that come in to help students get homework done or particularly tough assignments. For me, at one point I had a tutor come in and help me for like four weeks with homework and writing papers. When I first came to La Conner I didn’t even know how to type up a full paper and edit because we didn’t do that at Heritage. At La Conner they have people who are there to help you and to support you to make sure you are understanding and able to do the work. The first week I felt like this wouldn’t be the place for me because I wasn’t used to this kind of environment and the curriculum was completely different. I kind of felt dumb at first, but after a few weeks I become more comfortable because I was getting the help that I needed. The faculty and tutors helped me to adjust. They wanted me to succeed and that made all the difference.”
Do you feel you’re getting better prepared for college life?
“Yeah, because they really hold you accountable for your homework and deadlines for assignments. They want you to succeed and recognize when you need one-on-one attention to understand the curriculum.”
Adiya Jones, center. photo courtesy Adiya Jones.
How does the style of play differ from what you were used to at Heritage?
“There’s a big difference. Coach Novak is really about structure and bases our game off of defense and set plays. The first week all we did was conditioning, other than that, the rest of our practices were focusing on our sets. At Heritage it was basically a few plays and half the time we didn’t run them. It was a huge change because back at Heritage it was mainly like, ‘get the ball to Adiya.’ Most of the plays were based off me, whereas here at La Conner it feels really good to have support and not be relied on to carry the offense all the time.”
How is the competition different playing in a larger league?
“Our league isn’t the best, but it’s an improvement competition-wise. We get more good competitive games, and for me I get to match up with girls who are my size or bigger with skill. At Heritage, district 1B, there weren’t that many girls bigger than me or taller than me so I wasn’t challenged in the ways that I am playing for La Conner. Being challenged makes me play better and improve my game.”
What was the adjustment period like playing with a brand new team?
“It helped a lot that Coach Novak had us all play fall league together before our high school regular season started. At first it was kind of hard to adjust, but we learned each other’s games pretty quick. Our point guard, Kamea Pino, was also a transfer student and new to the school like me. It helped me and her bond, both being the new players on the team. It really showed how we came together in a short amount of time by starting the season like we did.”
Before your first basketball game for La Conner, did you have any doubts about your skills in a different league?
“Yeah, I had doubts. I didn’t even know if I was going to be a starter. Coach Novak was really good about working with me to calm my nerves in the very beginning. “
But then you went on to be a starter and had a great season. You even averaged 16.3 points per game. Did that validate your skills as a basketball player?
“Oh yeah, fitting in as quickly as I did and taking on a good portion of our offensive sets really let me know that I could find a way to play in any league. Being able to score on better competition and then winning the Skagit Valley Herald Girls’ basketball player of the year was one of the best feelings.”
You guys got off to a really good start and in fact went undefeated during the regular season. At what point did you realize you had a real shot at winning the state title?
“I think it was towards the end of the regular season when we knew we’d be league champs. There was a week where we won our league and then came together, as a team to overcome some challenges at the district tournament. Really coming down to it, it was at that time that as a team we recognized we could win state.”
Going into the semi-finals at State your team was 24-0 and had a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter, but ending up losing the game. What happened?
“The easy answer is I fouled out with a few minutes to go. If I don’t foul out then I 100% believe we would have won that game. It was late in the game and I was exhausted from all the ball we’d been playing and I picked up some errant fouls that ended up being the difference. It was a really tough loss.”
But then your team bounced back in the 3rd place game, right? That’s still a nice accomplishment in your first year with La Conner to go 25-1 and place 3rd in the state tournament.
“Yeah, we were shocked after losing our first game of the season, but we came together and wanted to still finish the season strong. I was so mad at myself for fouling out in the semi-finals and was determined to end the season with a good game. In the end, whether we took 3rd place or not we were all happy as a team to be one of the top teams in the entire state.”
Now you have that extra motivation to come back even better next season and to hopefully win it all at state.
“Definitely. We have three returning starters and will be even hungrier to win the state championship. For me, it was my first experience playing on that level and now I know what it takes to take that next step. I’m all about basketball right now and focused to win a state championship. I’m not even playing a spring sport right now so that I can play spring league basketball. Plus, it’ll be my senior year, my last season of high school ball, so that’s even more added motivation for me to get better for myself and my teammates.”
Outside of school and basketball, how are you liking living in La Conner?
“It’s a very uplifting atmosphere and easy to get adjusted to. Over here there is definitely less drugs, so it’s good to be away from that type of environment. It’s so friendly here, like everyone is friendly and it’s very peaceful. I could walk to the store and people who I don’t even know recognize me as a basketball player and say ‘Congrats’ or ‘good job!’ and it feels really good to have people I don’t know acknowledge me like that.”
Who are your favorite basketball players to watch?
“On the professional level I don’t really watch WNBA, but in the NBA my favorite player is Kevin Durant. On the collegiate level my favorite player is Breanna Stewart at the University of Connecticut. I’ve been watching her the last couple years and try to copy some of her moves.”
I hear you plan on playing some ball in Europe during the summer. What’s that about?
“It’s such an exciting opportunity. I’ve been invited by the ACIS program to play basketball in Italy from July 15-21. I’ll be able to learn about the game on a whole new level and learn about that culture. I’m kind of scared to be in a new country, but I’m more excited for the opportunity to showcase my skills. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
What areas of your game are you going to focus on improving before the start of your senior season?
“Really working on better post moves is my main goal. I’ll be working on my conditioning too so that I’ll be in the best shape possible to be quicker on the court. Now, I know what it takes to the next level, to the championship game and I want to become a great player so that I’m prepared to take that next step.”
You averaged 16.3 points per game this past season as a junior. What is your goal to average in your senior season?
“My goal is to average at least 20 points per game. I think I can do it and being my senior year that would be a good goal to accomplish, along with winning a state title.”
With elections coming soon for the position of Executive Director of the NFL Player Association (NFLPA), Change the Mascot campaign leaders have issued a letter to all of the candidates urging them to take a stand against the racist name of the Washington NFL team. The letter, issued by the National Congress of American Indians, the United South and Eastern Tribes, and the Oneida Indian Nation, cites current Executive Director DeMaurice Smith’s recent comments opposing the name. It also encourages the candidates to make public statements on the subject and to pledge to put forward a resolution to NFLPA members proposing that the organization join the Change the Mascot campaign and demand that the league change the name.
The letter notes how sports, and particularly beloved athletes, have unique power in shaping today’s culture. Correspondingly, it calls upon the future NFLPA Executive Director to use his position by being an importance voice for equality.
“Athletes are in a unique position to take up the cause of social justice – especially on an issue like this that is so intertwined with professional sports. In the spirit of solidarity that the NFLPA so often promotes, we hope you will stand with us in this critical campaign,” states the letter.
The letter also cites how continued use of the R-word name is an affront for current NFL players on both a moral level by forcing them to wear and promote the iconography of the slur, and on an economical level by potentially reducing revenues.
The Change the Mascot letter was sent to Executive Director DeMaurice Smith who is running for re-election, as well as other candidates Jim Acho, Jason Belser, Sean Gilbert, Robert Griffith, Rob London, Arthur McAfee, Andrew Smith and John Stufflebeam.
The election for NFLPA Executive Director is scheduled for March 15.
Change the Mascot is a grassroots campaign that works to educate the public about the damaging effects on Native Americans arising from the continued use of the R-word. This civil and human rights movement has helped reshape the debate surrounding the Washington team’s name and brought the issue to the forefront of social consciousness. Since its launch last season, Change the Mascot has garnered support from a diverse coalition of prominent advocates including elected officials from both parties, Native American tribes, sports icons, leading journalists and news publications, civil and human rights organizations and religious leaders.
The full text of the letter to the candidates is included below and can be found on the Change the Mascot website here.
Dear NFLPA Executive Director Candidate,
From Jesse Owens to Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali, athletes hold a special leadership position in history’s crusades for social justice. That has never been truer than it is today: as sports have become such an integral part of American culture, athletes have unique power to shape that culture for the better and to be a voice for the cause of equality.
The National Football League Players Association has been one of the organizations that has consistently marshaled that power for this righteous cause, standing in solidarity with others, just as civil rights groups have stood with the union. Because you are a candidate to become the next executive director of this hallowed organization, we are writing to you with a critical request: we are asking that you pledge that, if elected, you will put a resolution forward to NFLPA members allowing them to vote to have the organization formally join our Change the Mascot Campaign.
Our campaign’s goal is simple: we want the NFL to use its power to finally stop the Washington franchise from promoting a dictionary-defined racial slur as its name. This is a word screamed at Native Americans as they were dragged at gunpoint off their lands — and it was a name originally given to the team by one of America’s most infamous segregationists, George Preston Marshall. As public health organizations have attested, this name has significant negative effects on Native Americans: every Sunday, the promotion of this name tells millions of Americans it is acceptable to denigrate native peoples on the basis of their alleged skin color.
Just as the NFL would never dare allow any other racial slur to brand one of its teams, it should not allow this name to continue to be promoted for the team that represents the nation’s capital. That is a common sense view understood by current professional football players including Richard Sherman and Champ Bailey; by former stars such as Terry Bradshaw, Calvin Hill and Mark Schlereth; and by the Fritz Pollard Alliance, the organization that works with the league to promote civil rights. They have all spoken out against the continued use of the team’s current name, as have major Native American organizations, public health organizations, religious leaders, sports media icons, governors, Members of Congress from both parties and the President of the United States.
For current NFL players, this name is an affront on two levels.
Morally, it is unacceptable for the league to continue forcing athletes to wear uniforms that publicly promote the iconography of a racial slur.
Economically, the continued use of the name potentially reduces revenues for players. According to an Emory University study of college teams, “The shift away from a Native American mascot yields positive financial returns.” With the NFLPA generating some of its revenues through merchandise sales, continuing to use the Washington team’s name forsakes the same positive financial returns that players could reap if the name were changed.
Last year, the current NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith issued a statement to The Washington Post correctly noting that the Washington team’s name conveys “racial insensitivity” and declared that “I do not believe anyone should inflict pain, embarrass or insult, especially given the racial insensitivity” of the team’s name.
We applaud Mr. Smith for making such a bold statement, and we are asking that all current candidates for NFLPA executive director make similar public statements. But we are also asking that the candidates take it a step further by pledging to have the full membership of the NFLPA vote on a formal resolution to join the Change the Mascot campaign and to demand that the league change the team’s name.
As noted at the beginning of this letter, athletes are in a unique position to take up the cause of social justice – especially on an issue like this that is so intertwined with professional sports. In the spirit of solidarity that the NFLPA so often promotes, we hope you will stand with us in this critical campaign.
When Billy Mills raced to one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history — winning the 10,000-meter gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Games — a lot of people wanted to congratulate him.
Mills received a telegram from his best friend, Leroy Chief, and his cousin, Harry Eagle Bull. A note from John Glenn challenged Billy, a fellow Marine, to a race – the competitive Glenn said he’d ride his motorcycle, and if he didn’t win, they’d have to race again with Glenn on his rocket ship.
But perhaps the most unique congratulation originated over 5,700 miles away from the athlete’s village in Tokyo and took a bit longer than a telegram to reach Mills.
Back on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where Mills had grown up, just before the race he wasn’t supposed to win, the community filled a sacred pipe with tobacco and prayed to the four directions, to mother earth and to the creator, that Billy would represent himself with dignity, and in so doing represent his people — the people of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe and the United States — with dignity.
When Mills returned home from Japan, the tribe held a powwow in his honor and bestowed upon him his Lakota name: Tamakoca Tekihila, which translates to “Loves His Country”.
It was a name Mills would live up to not just on Oct. 14, 1964, when he won the only 10,000-meter Olympic gold in U.S history, but every day since that epic race.
The Path To The Medal
The story of Mills’ journey to the Olympics reads like a Dickens novel. Born to Grace and Sidney Mills on June 30, 1938, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Billy Mills joined a family that would soon number eight children. His parents divorced when he was young, but he was close with both and devastated by the death of his mother when he was 8, and especially by the loss of his father four years later.
One of Mills’ strongest memories of his father is from a fishing trip the two took shortly after his mother’s death.
“My dad looked at me and told me, ‘Son, you have broken wings.’ He said I had to look beyond the hurt, hate, jealousy, self-pity. All of those emotions destroy you. He said, ‘Look deeper son. Way down deep is where the dreams live. Find your dream, son. It’s the pursuit of a dream that’ll
Billy Mills jostled with Tunisian Mohamed Gammoudi on the way to the gold medal. (AP Photo)
heal a broken soul.'”
Mills’ environment did not lend itself to the fulfillment of dreams. Pine Ridge is consistently one of the poorest communities in the United States, and suffers from a crippling mix of complicating issues: alcohol abuse, unemployment, youth suicide and others.
Besides these immediate barriers, the native community was under legal and psychological attack from the federal government — Mills’ date of birth is closer to the massacre at Wounded Knee than it is to today, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act wasn’t passed until 1978 — and people struggled to maintain their identity in the face of a government mandate to assimilate. He says he grew up with the knowledge that his people had experienced “our own genocide.”
Mills’ father was Oglala Lakota, but his mother was white, which means that their child is iyeska, a Lakota term which he translates as “mixed blood”. At times Mills felt held at arms length by the most traditional and full-blooded native people. Achievement, measured by accolades like academic and athletic success, sometimes seemed to come at the expense of community.
He did well enough academically to gain admission to the Haskell Indian School (now the Haskell Indian Nations University), but the school was far from his family, in Kansas, and choosing to leave the reservation brought additional scrutiny and wariness from the native people who stayed.
Mills says that those Oglala who chose to go to the school were “rejected twofold. Those traditionalists … couldn’t understand why we were trying to engage in the society that had basically created the genocide of us. And society basically rejected us. The theme of the day was the melting pot. But the melting pot, if you look at it from the Native American perspective, was to take the Indian-ness out of me.”
Running became Mills’ escape from his personal struggles. No matter what was going on in his life, when he ran, he found tranquility. At Haskell, Mills’ running prowess caught the attention of college coaches, and he entered a world even more removed from his native community when he enrolled at the University of Kansas. he seemed to be doing well, but internally he was struggling.
“Racism in America was breaking me,” he says. “Nobody knew, but it was breaking me.”
Mills says he came frighteningly close to committing suicide, “close enough to scare me to this day.” But in his darkest moment, he heard a voice.
“I just heard energy: ‘Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.’ The fourth and last time, soothing, powerful, gentle loving, very direct, ‘Don’t.’ And to me it was my dad’s voice. I got off my chair and I wrote down a dream to heal a broken soul. I wrote ‘Gold medal, 10,000 meter run.'”
Healing A Broken Soul
The journey toward his dream is an epic tale that has already been the subject of a feature film, “Running Brave.”
He found some success in college, becoming a three-time All-American in cross country, but his career really took off when he joined the Marines and married his college sweetheart, Patricia. The Marines offered stability in the form of a special training camp for Olympic hopefuls, medical expertise that identified and helped manage the Type II diabetes that had caused Billy to unexpectedly crash in previous races, and a strong mentor in the form of coach and Olympic gold medalist Tommy Thompson Sr.
Coach Thompson’s belief in Mills’ dream was a key component of his success, but even more important was the confidence and support he drew from Patricia, who put her own goal of a career in art on hold in order to support his training.
In a time when Olympic athletes were still held to the strictest definition of amateurism, Patricia was his one-woman support crew, providing meals and snacks to help manage his diabetes, caring for their newborn daughter, and providing emotional support when almost no one else believed in Mills’ dream.
In Tokyo, Mills had memorized where Patricia would be sitting before the race — 95 yards from the finish, 32 seats up. In visualizing the race, he
Even after crossing the finish line, Billy Mills was unsure he’d actually won the race. (AP Photo)
designated it as the point where he would start his all-out sprint. Despite going up against athletes such as Australian Ron Clarke — the reigning world record holder who had run nearly a minute faster than Mills’ personal best — Mills’ belief in himself never wavered. His goal was to win.
When the gun fired on race day, Mills hung with the leaders, despite a pace for the 10,000-meter race that was nearly as fast as his best for 5,000 meters. On the final lap, he found himself one of just three men in contention for the win, sitting on Clarke’s shoulder with Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia just behind him.
The bell lap played out like an obstacle course as the leaders weaved around nearly a dozen lapped runners, and Billy was pushed off balance twice in the jostling for position. Stumbling into lane 2 in the aggressive fray, Billy seemed to fade out of contention on the backstretch when Gammoudi surged. Mills approached Patricia’s seat about eight yards behind the leaders.
Coming off the curve of the straightaway, just under his wife’s position, a lapped runner began to float wide, and Mills saw daylight: space to sprint for victory. He pumped his arms, lifted his knees, and gave it all he had. Glancing left at a lapped runner, Mills thought he saw an eagle on the competitor’s singlet. He remembered his father’s words: “The pursuit of a dream will heal your broken wings.”
He flew with the wings of an eagle to the finish line, breaking the tape first.
The Giveaway
Despite dreaming about the victory for years, Mills could hardly believe his dream had come true. When an official came up to him immediately after the race and asked, “Who are you?” Mills momentarily panicked, fearing he had somehow stopped a lap early. In footage from the race, you can see him holding up one finger, asking a question.
The Japanese official confirms with a single raised finger of his own: first place, Olympic champion. Mills laughs, still seemingly disbelieving, and waves to the crowd.
What does one do then as a newly-crowned Olympic gold medalist? Mills knew generally what he wanted to do after the Olympics.
In the Lakota tradition, someone who has experienced success holds a “giveaway,” a ceremony that recognizes those who have supported them on their journey and gives back. But Mills wasn’t sure how to hold his giveaway. The tribe had been his entire existence, and he was overwhelmed by the number of people he wanted to recognize and share his victory with.
Again, Mills turned to Patricia. Her suggestion? “Take the inspiration that was given to you and pass it on to another generation.”
Since the medal ceremony in Tokyo, the rest of his life has been a choreographed giveaway. The process began in 1983, when Mills worked to create “Running Brave,” which chronicles his Olympic journey. He still meets strangers around the world who tell him they were inspired by his movie.
The giveaway started working in earnest, though, when Mills met Gene Krizek, a World War II veteran with extensive connections in Washington who had just started his Christian Relief Services charity. Concerned about the plight of Native Americans, Gene enlisted Billy’s help as a spokesperson for a new charity dedicated to bringing “resources and a sense of hope” to American Indian communities.
In honor of Mills’ achievements, the two named the charity Running Strong for American Indian Youth (http://indianyouth.org/). The charity serves the community through activities such as organic gardening initiatives, helping to weatherproof homes, funding projects to document and preserve native culture and language, and, of course, fundraising through road races.
Since 1991, Running Strong has donated more than $41 million in programs and services that benefit American Indian youth and native communities across the country. Mills’ official role with Running Strong is to serve as national spokesperson, which he does in addition to his day job as a professional speaker.
Mills is on the road for upwards of 300 days a year, speaking to diverse groups at museums, universities and in the military, his broad perspective
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Billy Mills received the 2012 Presidential Citizens medal for his work with American Indian youth.
providing inspiration with which just about anyone can identify. Most of his speeches emphasize “global unity through the dignity, character and beauty of global diversity.” Billy speaks with deliberation and passion, his calm, soothing voice belying the urgency of his message.
He has a teacher’s ability to explain the wider historical context of an event or problem, and a belief in people’s ability to work together that is so strong as to be spiritual. The combined effect is to produce a broad understanding of our interconnected problems and a confidence that good people will be able to fix them. It is this spirit that inspires his latest endeavor.
Mills wanted to do something special in October in recognition of the 50th anniversary of his gold medal run. Of all the problems facing the youth of Pine Ridge and other Native American communities, he is most concerned about “the poverty of dreams”: the grind of financial poverty that can rob American Indian youth of the ability to imagine a better future and chase after their goals.
As his father said all those years ago, “it is the pursuit of a dream that will heal a broken soul.” So, the Dreamstarter project (http://indianyouth.org/Dreamstarter), launching this year, encourages young people to imagine a way to improve their community and then provides logistical and economic support for that dream.
For each of the next five years, 10 young dreamers will be selected to have their vision come true. The applicants must find a mentor organization to work with in implementing their ideas, and will participate in a leadership skills-building conference in Washington, D.C., before receiving $10,000 from Running Strong for American Indian Youth to help make their dreams a reality.
The program is notable for the agency that it provides to the grant recipients. Besides general themes for each year (this year’s theme is wellness, next year’s is the arts) and the stipulation that projects must be aimed at communities composed primarily of native people, there are few restrictions on what the dreams can entail. I
Instead of throwing money at a problem, the Dreamstarter program empowers young people to identify a problem in their communities and come up with a solution. Essentially, Mills is creating leadership.
“Loves His Country,” the name given to Mills by his tribe after his race, has a dual meaning, because as a mixed-blood iyeska, Billy has two countries and loves them both.
His love for his Lakota Sioux tribe has led him on his 50-year quest to give back to the community and improve the lives of native people in America. And his love for the United States, evidenced by his service to the federal government as a Marine and his representation of the United States as an Olympian, means he never forgets the power and responsibility that the U.S. government has as it relates to Native Americans.
As Mills says, “our young people … are going to be our warriors in the battles of the 21st century. Our battles will no longer be fought out on the plains of the Dakotas. The battles are going to be fought … with our intellect, and they’re going to be fought in the court systems of America.
“Not against the United States of America, but by educating our congressional people [on Native American treaty rights] … and fighting for the implementation of those treaty rights. [And that will] help empower Native American young people to help make America a more beautiful place.”
Through the Dreamstarter project, Mills is moving forward the process of empowerment.
This past year, while visiting a tribe in North Dakota, Mills was given a second Indian name, one that translates as, “He Whose Footsteps We Can
AP Photo/David Zalubowski Giving back to Native American people is a fulfilling, ongoing process for Billy Mills.
Hear, But We Cannot See Him.” Like his original Indian name, this one has two meanings.
The first references the race where Mills dreamed of victory — 50 years ago, Billy Mills’ footsteps, so fast you could barely see him, ignited a nation, so fast you could barely see him. The second is that Mills’ footsteps, the impression he leaves behind, will last long after his life is over.
What began as a journey to heal a broken soul by chasing an Olympic dream has become a lasting legacy that enables others to join the pursuit of dreams and goals.
