On Saturday, July 18, Seattle’s KeyArena was home to the WNBA’s Seattle Storm second annual ‘Native American Heritage Night’, as the Storm hosted the Atlanta Dream and their Native all-star guard Shoni Schimmel. For the second straight year, KeyArena reported a sellout crowd of 9,686 fans against the Atlanta Dream thanks in large part to the growing popularity of Schimmel to urban tribal youth. The sellout crowd was made up primarily of Native American tribes from all over the Pacific Northwest who journeyed to Seattle to root for Schimmel. In fact, every time Shoni “Sho-Time” Schimmel came into the game or had her name announced, the crowd went wild with excitement and joy.
Schimmel, a 5-foot-9 guard, is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and was raised on the reservation just outside Pendleton, Oregon. Many fans in the building wore her image on t-shirts and waved homemade signs celebrating Schimmel. The fan base even helped vote her to next week’s All-Star Game as a starter, but Schimmel is far from the player who last year became the first rookie to win the game’s MVP honor.
Schimmel’s popularity among Native Americans has made her one of the more recognizable names in the WNBA, and nowhere is her popularity on greater display than in her annual trip to Seattle. Fans from as far away as the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana made the journey to Seattle just to watch her play.
Photo/Micheal Rios
Prior to the game, Schimmel spoke on the tremendous outpouring of support she receives on the west coast.
“It’s a bunch of support out there, especially in Seattle. There’s a lot of people coming out there because it’s the closest to home I get to play. My whole family has traveled to Seattle to watch me play, it’s going to be special for me.”
The Tulalip Youth Services department seized the opportunity of ‘Native American Heritage Night’ to provide a fun and exciting activity for our tribal youth. Over one hundred tickets were purchased and given to youth who showed on Saturday afternoon at the Don Hatch Teen Center, where they were then transported via shuttle bus to Seattle’s Key Arena.
According to Shawn Sanchey, Youth Services Activity Specialist, the youth were abuzz all week about the chance to see Shoni play in person.
“The kids all know who Shoni is and the excitement was building all week leading up to the game. A lot of it has to do with her being Native and growing up on a reservation. It helps a lot for the kids to see someone with a similar background succeed on the professional level, she inspires them. They really like her and look up to her,” said Sanchey.
Photo/Micheal Rios
The Storm got off to a scorching start, outscoring the Dream 27-16 in the first quarter. By halftime, the Storm had torched the befuddled Dream for 48 first-half points and took a 48-33 lead to the locker room. All those Shoni fans in attendance were given a very lackluster 1st half performance, as she hadn’t even attempted a field goal.
In keeping with the Native theme of the night, the Storm provided a half-time entertainment consisting of pow-wow dancers and drummers from the Chief Seattle Club, Young Society, and Northwest Tribal Dancers.
After Seattle went ahead by 19 points to start the 4th quarter, Schimmel, who had been held scoreless to that point, finally got in rhythm and displayed why she’s called “Sho-Time”. She recorded all eight of points, two of her three rebounds, and one monstrous block that sent the crowd into a short frenzy during the final quarter. The biggest cheer was when she hit her first 3-pointer with 3:59 left in the game. Her late game efforts come up short though, as the Storm would go onto claim victory after scoring a season high 86 points.
Following the game, many of the fans who came to see Shoni remained in their seats after it was announced she would be addressing the crowd and signing autographs. In her post-game interview, Schimmel took to the mic to talk to the all-Native crowd and thanked them for their support. She was asked about the hundreds of young Native American girls in the stand who idolize her and what message she wanted to send to them.
“I never thought I would be in the WNBA, but here I am. Follow your dreams! Look at me now, this little Native girl from Oregon playing professional basketball.”
1st place boys team, NimiiPuu Elite (Lapwat, ID) Photo/Lonnie Enick
1st place girls team, Lapwai Wildcats (Lapwai, ID) Photo/Lonnie Enick
As part of the 2015 7th Generation Mentoring program, Tulalip Tribes held the High School Junior Nationals Basketball Tournament over the weekend of May 16 and 17. The two-day tournament, featuring a boy’s bracket and girl’s bracket, brought out some of the best Native high school teams in the Northwest. The Lummi Blackhawks, Washington State Champions, the Lapwai Wildcates, Idaho State 2nd place team, and Tulalip’s own Young Gunz team, featuring Robert Miles Jr. and Bryce Juneau, were expected to be the contenders battling it out for tournament champion. On the girl’s side, it was just a matter of time before Tulalip’s team featuring Adiya Jones and Faye Chartraw would be playing Idaha State Champions, the Lapwai Wildcats, in the finals.
It’s worth noting that there were several teams who came from out of state to participate in the basketball tournament. Besides the boys and girls teams from Lapwai, Idaha (of the Nez Pierce), there was also a boys team from Wyoming and a girls team from Nevada who traveled the long distance to represent for their tribe and state.
2nd place boys team,Young Gunz (Tulalip, WA) Photo/Lonnie Enick
The boys Championship game featured the Tulalip Young Gunz vs. the Lapwai Wildcats. The Young Gunz got off to a terrible start and were unable to break the full-court press applied by the Wildcats. A little more than midway through the 1st half the Young Gunz found themselves trailing 12-27, and at halftime they were down 19-30. In the 2nd half, the Wildcats went out of their full-court defense and that allowed the Young Gunz to mount a bit of a comeback, getting with 6 points, 48-54 with 4:00 left to play. The Wildcats were just better at executing their offence and seemed to force turnovers at will, which ultimately won them the game and the tournament.
2nd place girls team,Tulalip Elite (Tulalip, WA) Photo/Lonnie Enick
The girls Championship game also featured a Tulalip vs. Lapwai Wildcats matchup. The Tulalip team, coached by Charlotte Jones, did their best to keep up with the State Champions from Idaho, but the speed and tempo of the game favored the Lady Wildcats. In the end, the Lady Wildcats won the game, resulting in a Lapwai sweep of both the boys and girls brackets. Tulalip represented and took 2nd place in both sides of the bracket.
Lonne Enick, tournament coordinator, said of the weekend’s basketball festivities, “Another successful tournament in Tulalip. Thank you to all the people for coming out and supporting their teams.”
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.”
Shaelynn Sanchey looks to pass the ball in the opening possession for the Lady Hawks. Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Lady Hawks (0-5) hosted the Orcas Christian Saints (2-1) on December 16, 2014. Coming off a narrow defeat to archrival Lummi in a previous game, the Lady Hawks were looking to rebound with their first win of the season.
Coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg and his Lady Hawks would have their work cut out for them as they would be playing with only 5 eligible players, meaning no bench and no substitutions for the already thin roster.
The 1st quarter got off to a rough start for the Lady Hawks as the Orcas Christian Saints played a full court press defensively the first several possessions that resulted in consecutive turnovers by the home team. To make matters worse, the Lady Hawks looked slow and lethargic while not hustling to rebounds. Because of the lack of energy the Saints collected 5 offensive rebounds on one possession. With 3:00 remaining in the opening quarter the Lady Hawks found there hustle and looked like they were ready to play for real. There was an offensive focus to get the ball to the Lady Hawk bigs Nina Fryberg and Jaylin Rivera. Both were able to get into good offensive position and get off clean shots, but they didn’t fall. The 1st quarter ended with the Lady Hawks trailing 0-11.
Following the lackluster 1st quarter showing, Coach Fryberg urged his players to push the tempo offensively and for the guards, Michelle Iukes and Myrna Redleaf, to be more aggressive while looking for their shots. After giving up a quick bucket to go down 0-13, the Lady Hawks buckled in defensively to force back-to-back turnovers. Michelle Iukes showed her coach the aggression he was looking for by pulling down an offensive board and getting fouled on the put-back attempt. Michelle went one for two at the free throw line to put the Lady Hawks on the board 1-13. On the very next possession Myrna found a wide open Michelle who swished in a 3-pointer. Moments later Myrna forced a Saints turnover and Coach Fryberg called a timeout. He drew up a play that was executed to perfection and resulted in Michelle hitting another 3-pointer. The Lady Hawks were on a 7-0 run and brought the score to 7-13. The Saints responded by hitting a 3-pointer of their own, followed by a Nina Fryberg free throw and a baseline jumper by Michelle. With the score now 10-16 the Saints called a timeout.
Coming out of their timeout, the Saints ran a defense that this basketball enthusiast hadn’t seen before. Later I learned it was called the diamond press or 1-2-1-1 full court press. It’s a trapping man-to-man defense that only works if you have quick guards who can “heat up the ball” in a one-on-one situation. This means getting the ball handler out of control and blinding him from the impending trap, which comes from a secondary defender who’s lurking near half-court. For the remainder of the 2nd quarter, the Saints remained in their diamond press defense and the Lady Hawks committed eight turnovers while not scoring another point. At halftime the Lady Hawks trailed 10-24.
The Saints’ diamond press defense continued to stifle the Lady Hawks in the 3rd quarter. Following back to back turnovers, Myrna found an open Michelle who shot and made her third 3-pointer of the game to make the score 13-26. Over the remainder of the 3rd quarter the Lady Hawks would only score two more points, scored by Jaylin Rivera, as the Saints defense continued to slow down the visibly frustrated Lady Hawks. Meanwhile the Saints were getting easy buckets off of 14 forced turnovers. Going into the 4th quarter the Lady Hawks trailed 15-41.
After getting the short break to rest before the start of the 4th quarter the Lady Hawks came out hustling. They were running back on defense and not letting the Saints take uncontested shots. On offense the shots weren’t following until Michelle inbounded to an open Jaylen who made an elbow jumper to make the score 17-41. Unfortunately for the Lady Hawks that would be their last basket of the game as Jaylin soon after fouled out. Having no bench players for this game meant the Lady Hawks would play the rest of the game 4-on-5. This added challenge made it difficult to get any offense going. The game ended 17-49 in favor of the Orcas Christian Saints.
Following the game Lady Hawk Michelle Iukes was very upbeat about the team’s development. “We’ve gotten a lot better at beating the press. We didn’t panic or anything. But we have to look middle more because they [Jaylin and Nina] are open. I think everyone has improved and we are able to look inside more, down low more and not just high post.”
The Lady Hawks remain positive and are determined to get their first win on the season in the coming weeks.
Guard Ayrik Miranda pushing the tempo after a Saint’s turnover. Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The 2-1 Heritage Hawks hosted the 1-2 Orcas Christian Saints on December 16, 2014. The Hawks were looking to rebound from their first loss of the season, falling to Lummi Nation 55-79. Senior guard Ayrik Miranda was making his home debut vs the Saints and inserted into the starting lineup.
The 1st quarter got off to a rocky start as the Hawks failed to connect on their first four shots, while the Saints started off 3-3 from the field to take an early 7-0 lead. Two minutes into the opening quarter Center Robert Miles was fouled while shooting and subsequently made a free throw to put the Hawks on the board, 1-7. The Saints responded by converting two free throws of their own to take a 9-1 lead. That would be the largest lead of the game by the Saints as the Hawks got their offense going. The Hawks spread the floor offensively and focused on moving the ball from player to player. Over the next 3:00 of game play the Hawks stellar ball movement resulted in an 8-0 run to tie the game at 9-9. The Saints responded with a 7-0 run of their own, taking advantage of offensive rebounds on four straight possessions, to take a 16-9 lead. In the Hawks closed the quarter on a 4-0, scoring two straight transition buckets. At the end of 1 the Hawks trailed 13-16.
The Hawks carried their momentum into the 2nd quarter by scoring two quick buckets to take their first lead of the game, 17-16. Making his home debut in fashion, Ayrik was in the midst of scoring 10 straight Hawk points. Both teams traded baskets until the Hawks called a timeout with 5:16 remaining in the half, with the Hawks trailing 24-25. Ayrik and Trevor Fryberg hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Willy Enick hit an elbow jumper to put the Hawks up 31-29, leading to a Saints’ timeout. Following the timeout Aryik hit another 3-pointer to give the Hawks their largest lead of the game, 34-29. To this point Ayrik was on fire having scored 14 points in the quarter and 18 of the last 25 points scored by the Hawks. The initial defense of Hawks was forcing the Saints to take contested jumpers, but because the Hawks weren’t boxing out the Saints’ bigs were getting easy putback baskets. The offense continued to flow regardless, and Jesse Louie found his range hitting a 3-pointer and Willy Enick hit an elbow jumper to extend the Hawks lead to 44-36 at halftime.
Coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg used the halftime intermission to motivate his Hawk players to improve their defense play. “Defensively we are being outhustled. They have gotten way too many rebounds and they are scrapping to go get the ball. Why? Because we are playing lazy. We have to play harder, box out more, and hustle after the ball,” Fryberg told his players.
With the defensive intensity turned up, the Hawks came up with two steals during a 7-0 run to open the 2nd half to push their lead to 51-36. Both teams would alternate scoring baskets over the next several minutes, all the while the Hawks maintaining a double digit lead. That is until they committed four turnovers in the final 1:30 of the 3rd quarter. The turnovers proved costly as the Saints converted them into buckets, closing the quarter on a 6-2 run. Going into the final quarter the Hawks lead was down to 8 points, 59-51.
The Hawks began the 4th quarter with the same defensive mindset their coach instilled in them at halftime. They forced six straight Saints turnovers to hold the Saints scoreless three minutes into the final quarter. Capitalizing on their defense and getting timely offensive rebounds and putback layups by Enick the Hawks were on a 6-0 that pushed their lead to 65-51 with 5:06 left to play. Seeing enough of his team committing turnovers the Saints coach called a timeout to have his team regroup. Following the timeout the Saints put their offense in the hands of their point guard Michael Harris. He drove to the basket aggressively on the next six Saints possessions, scoring two buckets and coming away with four made free throws. On the other end, the Hawks continued to move the ball well and were scoring at the rim. With 3:00 to go the Hawks led 70-59. Saints’ Michael Harris again drove to the rim scoring another bucket; he had scored the last 10 Saints’ points. The Hawks continued to score off their offense sets and adjusted defensively by packing the paint to stop the Saints’ point guard from driving to the hoop. When the game was over the Hawks were now 4-1 on the season as they beat the Saints 76-63.
Heritage Lady Hawk #3 Myrna Redleaf makes a drive down the court in game against Grace Academy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, at Heritage High School. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Lady Hawk #3 Myrna Redleaf
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Fifteen-year-old Myrna Redleaf can easily be described as the most athletic player on the Lady Hawks team, evidenced by her strong baseline drives and her speed. Although a dual athlete playing both volleyball and basketball, winning isn’t what she is about. Sure she loves the glory that comes with winning, but she’s about being there for her team.
When asked why she chooses to play both sports she said, “I like both sports. I like to switch on and off.”
Redleaf has been playing basketball since 8th grade. Now in 10th grade at Heritage High School, she is in her second season as a Lady Hawk. In the 2013-2014 basketball season, Redleaf started as a point guard. That season her team would have an incredible record 22 wins and 4 losses, only meeting their toughest opponent during the trip-district championship games in the Neah Bay Red Devils. This year, Redleaf is one of few returning players and considered a veteran on the team.
(Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Redleaf says she is still getting used to the switch of playing style between the two sports. “I get nervous when a lot of girls come at me. It is hard.” Unlike volleyball where physical contact isn’t part of the sport, basketball can have a lot of physical contact. When players make a drive down the court during an offensive play to go up to make a shot, a lot of contact can occur.
This season is off to a rough start as the Lady Hawks adjust to building the team camaraderie that it had last year. Many of the players on last season’s team graduated or switched schools. Redleaf explains the loss of key players, such as Katia Brown, Adiya Jones and Kalea Tyler, can be felt, but she is hopeful that this season will be great.
Despite feeling nervous to step in the spotlight and test her skills as a leader, Redleaf credits the mentoring style of coaching she receives with new Lady Hawks head coach, Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg. “Last year there were a lot of good girls on the team so we didn’t go over as many drills as we are this year. I think more one-on-one is helping me.”
Dedicated and focused on and off the court, Redleaf, who’s favorite subject in school is math, says playing basketball has helped her focus and build confidence on the court as well as in school. “It helps me work as a team and communicate my thoughts.”
Her goal this season? Play hard and get a lot of shots in. As a scoring point guard, her main goal is to distribute the ball and get the players involved while also having to score, which means she has to have a good long shot, something she practices daily. “I practice a lot! I am still working on my long shots.” Her concerns are, “mainly shooting and handling the ball.” Despite playing one of the toughest games this season against Grace Academy, where the Lady Hawks were only able to score four points to Grace’s 49 and had over 20 turnovers, Redleaf is looking forward to meeting them on the court again.
“Grace was a tough game. There is a lot of stuff that we need to work on but other than that, we hustled pretty well during that game. I am looking forward to playing them again, or Highland Christian,” said Redleaf with her signature smile. “You just keep going. This is probably rock bottom and the only place we can go from here is up.”
Redleaf plans to attend college after high school to study business. She hopes to work in the human services field with the Tulalip Tribes.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
The gymnasium floor at Paschal Sherman Indian School on the Colville Reservation was filled with young basketball players, dozens of players, all between the ages of 6 and 11. Each wore a T-shirt which will become a prized possession.
Older players, from 12 to 18, would fill the gym the following day. One-hundred-and-thirty kids, boys and girls, would attend during the two days.
Several coaches worked with the youngsters, teaching passing skills, defensive maneuvers, shooting techniques and footwork.
Craig Ehlo signs shirts and photos as Tavio Hobson looks on. (Jack McNeel)
Former NBA basketball player Craig Ehlo was also there to talk with them and sign autographs, but the day and Ehlo’s presence was about much more than just basketball. It was also about drugs and the negative impacts they can have on one’s life and how a passion for sport can help avoid those negatives.
The clinic was jointly sponsored by The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations in Spokane and a Seattle organization called A Plus Youth Program. Dr. Martina Whelshula is Executive Director of the Healing Lodge and she commented on how the two programs have complimentary missions and similar programs in many respects. The Healing Lodge works primarily with Native young people dealing with drug addiction while A Plus uses sport to surround kids with character development, mentoring, and educational services.
During the day the youngsters were asked to answer a brief 6-question survey. “It’s an assessment tool to measure the risks of addiction for children,” Dr. Whelshula explains. “There’s an adult there to help if they have questions about the questions.”
“Harvard Medical School folks attended one of our clinics on the Spokane Reservation,” Dr. Whelshula said. “They loved it and thought it was an amazing tool on so many different levels.” So now the information gathered at the basketball clinics is sent to Harvard, they analyze it, and it’s returned to the tribe and Indian Health Service.
Tavio Hobson, Executive Director for A Plus, founded the organization five years ago with funding coming mostly from private individuals, grants and corporate sponsorships. They have some major contributors and are expecting significant growth in coming years. “One of the goals was to look at ways we could continue to expand programming in areas where there was high need and have folks with similar visions, passions, and missions. Areas where we felt we could make a significant impact. That’s where our Native Initiative came from. Our ultimate vision is to have this program on every reservation.”
Kids listen attentively as former NBA player Craig Ehlo tells of his career. (Jack McNeel)
They will be going to New York City this fall. “There are 60 to 70 thousand kids in public high schools with zero access to sport. They need mentoring support, including character development, financial literacy, leadership skills and implement substance resistance and prevention, in addition to adding sports,” Hobson explained.
Speaking of partnering with Healing Lodge, he said, “We want the exact same thing for Native youth. The power of sport is transformative. Being able to tie in with the Healing Lodge and their expertise, especially around substance abuse resistance, education, and prevention is something we’re passionate about.”
Three more reservations in the northwest, Umatilla, Kootenai of Idaho, and Kalispel, will have similar basketball clinics this summer. Puyallup has already signed up for the next fiscal year which begins in September. There is no charge to tribes. It’s funded with a grant from Indian Health Service. “Now that funding is done, this is where sustainability comes in because of our partnership with A Plus Youth Program and their financial backing. With the merging of the two programs we can go national,” Dr. Whelshula said.
Left to right: Tavio Hobson, Dr. Martina Whelshula, and Brad Meyers are persons most responsible for these basketball clinics. (Jack McNeel)
The interaction with professional athletes adds to the excitement for the youngsters. “Just about every professional athlete out of Seattle who played basketball has supported us at one time or another,” Hobson said. Magic Johnson was keynote speaker at a dinner two years ago, talking of the need that exists in many communities across the nation.
Craig Ehlo encouraged the youngsters at Paschal Sherman Indian School to develop a strong work ethic, as he did in watching his parents and which carried over into his basketball career. “Listen to your parents and to others like your coaches. They have wise words for you. Everything you learn now is going to shape your life.”
Dr. Whelshula and Hobson strongly agree that to reach young people one needs to start with what the kids are passionate about. “You’ve got to go meet them,” Hobson said. Sport is one of those passions for many young people.
On May 30, the Atlanta Dream kicked off its new initiative Heritage Fridays and celebrated Native American Night in honor of Shoni Schimmel.
The rookie guard, Umatilla, told ICTMN that she really appreciated the showing of support and called Friday’s event “Awesome.”
Native supporters filled an entire section of the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, and fans wore blue T-shirts donning Schimmel’s name and number, 23. And the first 2,000 fans received a turquoise Shoni Schimmel wristband.
“We are proud of the cultural diversity of our team and we look forward to celebrating that this season and beyond,” Dream President and General Manager Angela Taylor told WNBA.com.
Atlanta snapped a two-game losing bump with an 80-69 win over the Seattle Storm to improve to 3-2 overall, the team’s post game notes said. The Dream is now 2-1 in home games, and has won 20 of its last 25 regular-season games at Philips Arena.
Schimmel managed one assist for the night, but she’s averaging 9.3 points per game. Her season total of 38 points is tied for the most in WNBA history for a player in her first five career games, WNBA.com said.
At halftime, the Red Road and Elks Soldiers performed and Schimmel energized the crowd by taking a few photos with her biggest supporters and fans.
After the game, Schimmel revealed to ICTMN that when she’s not on the court, she manages her own blog, whcih you can read here. On her blog, Schimmel posted a photo of Native American Night. She’s posing with a crowd of fans, dancers, and WNBA staff.
“It was great getting to see the fans come out and support!! She wrote. “Thank you all for coming, and see you next time!!”
Tourneys like this one hosted as a fundraiser in Batesland, have become part of Native American basketball culture. PHOTO BY/Brandon Ecoffey
PINE RIDGE— The notoriety of the unique passion and style with which Native people play the sport of basketball has grown with the successes of college athletes like Jude and Shoni Schimmel. However the oversimplification of the term “Rez Ball” that has been tied to the two star guards for the University of Louisville has left out many aspects of Indian Country’s connections to the game, including those that are fostered at independently run basketball tournaments all across the country.
Stereotypical portrayals of Native America are often infused with images of black and white photographs from the pre-reservation era showing tribal members in traditional regalia. In representations of contemporary Native America the mainstream news cycle is often flooded with photographs of dire poverty and gang life. These elements do exist in Indian Country but what is often left out is the everyday life lived by many in predominately Native communities that is infused with the sport of basketball.
Although basketball was first brought to most reservation communities by Christian missionaries as an incentive or outlet to the harsh assimilationist policies within boarding schools the sport has been embraced throughout Native America.
For some like Beau Cuevas, a Mni Coujou Lakota, who has played the game his whole life basketball, holds a special place within him.
“For me it’s a way to relax because on that court nothing else matters it’s you and 9 others guys going to battle. It’s the only other place besides Inipi (sweat lodge) and Sundance that I feel at home, it’s a brotherhood,” said Cuevas.
One phenomenon that has been present in Indian Country since as early as the 1900’s has been the formation of travelling teams made up of Native American ball players. Possibly the earliest recorded Native American independent basketball team in history hailed from Fort Shaw, Montana. The team that was comprised of women competed in the 1904 World’s fair in St. Louis and helped to create interest in the game of basketball.
Throughout the year athletes from around Indian Country participate in both local and national basketball tournaments held in all parts of the U.S. The participants in these reservation or urban Indian community based tournaments vary from former high school stars, to successful Divisions 1 athletes, street ball legends and even potential NBA prospects like Luke Martinez who played at the University of Wyoming.
Occasionally in tournaments where tribal enrollment verification is not required high caliber non-Native participants are also brought in by Native teams to compete as demonstrated by sightings of former University of Wisconsin star Jordan Taylor at a tournament held at Indian Center in Minneapolis, MN and former South Dakota State University forward Tony Fiegan who played in one in Rapid City, SD last spring.
Cooper Kirkie a member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe who is one of the many talents who travel across the country to play in these tournaments says that the talent level playing is comparable to that of the NBA’s Developmental league or some of the pro leagues in Europe.
“With more and more Natives playing division 1 ball it is really getting to be good talent in these tournaments. The ones who are playing college ball and don’t go on to play after are the first round draft picks for these teams. Usually someone sees them play and someone else will know their auntie or cousin and call them up and bring them out,” said Kirkie.
Kirkie has travelled to over a dozen states including Florida, Washington, and Wisconsin to play in Native tournaments and feels that his desire to travel, that he inherited from his Grandmother, would have went unfulfilled without basketball.
“I am really blessed to be able to travel and see different parts of the country that without basketball I may not have ever been able to experience,” he said. “There are just so many good players out there is feels good to be able to go to other nations and compete against what they have. It is like counting coup. It isn’t about being violent or disrespectful it’s just going out and doing our best.”
With the arrival of gaming and energy dollars in to Indian Country the dynamics of these teams have begun to change as well as the sponsorships. The team Kirkie is on receives its funding from tribal members who are enrolled in a Florida based casino tribe who pays for the team to fly to and from tournaments throughout the year with per cap dollars generated by the tribal members’ casinos. The sponsorship money is a welcome relief from days past when Cooper was forced to gather money on his own.
“I remember when I first got started and I had to either save up money all the time or approach the tribe and ask them for $200. Sometimes they would give us that and we would get together some food stamps and we would travel on that,” he said. “The thing about our sponsors is that they are really good hearted people who do this because they like to see us play and they like to spend family time together with us. It isn’t like if we play a bad game that this is going to stop. It isn’t about that and it feels good playing with no pressure and being with family.”
Some tournaments are of the small scale where local teams converge to compete against fellow tribal members for jackets, sweaters, and occasionally t-shirts. However independent basketball has begun to take on a new feel with the onset of the same casino and energy dollars that sponsor Kirkie’s team being funneled in to the circuit with some tournaments awarding as much as $10,000 and custom designed Pendleton jackets to the winners. Recently the team Iron Boy which featured former Cheyenne Eagle Butte standout and Pine Ridge Native Daelan High Wolf took home the $10,000 prize at the March Madness tournament in Dells, Wisconsin.
The reasoning behind the creation of these tournaments varies from event to event. Some are local fundraisers while others are for competition but one authentically Native aspect of the Native Independent basketball circuit is using the game and the events as a way of memorializing lost loved ones. Travis Albers hosts a tournament each year in Bismarck, North Dakota honor of his brother Tanner who past away from cancer several years ago. Tanner was a star player in South Dakota alongside Travis, both would play together at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck. Just this last year Tanner was inducted in to the school’s hall of fame. For Travis who himself is veteran of the independent hoops trails the memorial tournament he runs is bigger than just basketball.
“Me and my brother had been playing basketball together since we could walk. It was something we did together, we did everything together,” said Albers. “When I have this tournament it isn’t just basketball. I want people to come and talk about memories they had of him and to talk about how he treated them good and remember things other than basketball.”
Travis and Tanner would play together with each other at all levels of the game including college and then with one of the more storied independent teams, Iron Five, for more than ten years together. For Travis the independent game has changed but it is still something that serves a purpose within Native communities.
“We have have a lot of athletes who could go on to play at higher levels but for whatever reason they sometimes get pulled back. But for those on the reservation they are still stars. Some of them are like NBA players to us but the tournaments are good ways to gather to remember the ones the passed away,” he said.
