Diversify Collegiate Athletics Through Native American Communities by Tanksi Clairmont

I learned I share a perspective of lack of Native American representation in Collegiate sports. We share some of the same views and opinions. She begins her article by providing a census of Native American in the US which goes on to tell us about the scarce percentage of them that are in college and how an even lower percentage are on the sports teams at their school. She shares her perspective as a former athlete and now coach as well as her daughters and sons perspectives as athletes. She mentions stereotypes of native athletes and how the landscape of intercollegiate sports could look with native representation. Both of her children aspire to become collegiate athletes themselves and work hard in their sport to achieve their dreams.

The abstract of this article is about Jim Thorpe's accomplishments in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon. Jenkins explains, Jim Thorpe did not fit the cookie cutter look of an olympian athlete and he was somehow atypical from the rest of the athletes that competed. King Gustaf V of Sweden placed the two gold medals around Thorpe's neck and named him “the greatest athlete in the world.” Thorpe was invited to many social events and parties to celebrate his wins, but he refused to go to any of them and said, “I didn't wish to be gazed upon as a curiosity.” Within the article Jenkins goes on to say, “...it was popularly believed that Thorpe was careless of his feats, a “lazy Indian” whose gifts were entirely bestowed by nature. Cory was nonchalant about celebrity, which he distrusted,” This shows that people never took into consideration that Thorpe dedicated most if not all of his time to his athletics. She then goes on to explain the well-told story of Thorpe's boarding school days and how he was the strongest athlete there and did not have the physique that others had. Still today the International Olympic Cooperation refuses to acknowledge thorpes abilities and achievements even when many people have broken

Basketball or Nothing

In this Netflix original series Basketball or Nothing, episode 1 “Rezball” the documentary series the Chinle Highschool boys basketball team in Arizona begin their journey to the State Championship to bring some pride to their community and the community has found excitement in watching the teamwork to achieve their goals. They share their perspective they go through in life such as poverty, death, and struggles and how they found an outlet through basketball. With the title being Basketball or Nothing it fits the whole idea that the only thing that these boys have is basketball and in order to be able to go to college and further on with their careers. Basketball keeps them away from the other issues their community is faced with such as alcoholism or drug abuse and they really take the sport seriously because it has become their life.

Laskaris, Sam. “Founder of Indigenous Softball Program Receives National Coaching Award -

Winnipeg.” CJOB, Global News, 5 Nov. 2021,.https://globalnews.ca/news/8352517/founder-of-indigenous-softball-program-receives-national-coaching-award/. Accessed November 20, 2021.

“Pablo, the indigenous athlete who works the cornfield to compete abroad.” Free Press Journal

(Mexico City), sec. News, 14 Aug. 2021. NewsBank: Access World News,infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/185F53FBC143 70C8. Accessed 8 Nov. 2021

“Rezball”. Basketball or Nothing. Season 1, episode 1. Netflix, 02 Aug. 2019. Netflix. Todd

Founder of Indigenous Softball Program Receives National Coaching Award,

The abstract of the article is about a man named Patrick Leask who started a youth softball program in the First Nations called Oji-Cree Softball back in February and it turned out to be super successful amongst the youth. The softball clinics that Leask runs are all free of charge amongst the children. All expenses are covered by the first nations. As he travels to different indigenous communities he explains all expenses are covered by their own communities and that's how he is able to advertise it as free to the children. After receiving his award he was also given $1500 and said that he is putting all of it towards his program and even had a 16u team. At the end of the article Leask says he did not care about wins or losses he just wanted to get the children involved and now are really into softball and are on the field throwing a ball for hours after school.

Pablo, the indigenous athlete who works the cornfield to compete abroad

The summary of the article is about a athlete named Pablo Eduardo Pérez Hernández who is a 26 year old runner from Chenalhó a town in southern Mexico. He is a professional runner and likes to compete all over Mexico and abroad like Ukraine and Columbia where he placed 2nd and 6th place. He has shown a lot of potential and success as a high performance athlete. This is one side of his life but he faces a tough reality of managing to keep a stable job. Sometimes he works in the fields or in a store he says, anywhere that he can. His father kicked him out of his house and now his money goes basics, like food, water, and a room to rent. That does not stop him from running and after work he goes from running dozens of kilometers all through four different communities. He is consistent with his training and says that it hurts him that he does not have the money for the expenses of competitions and tennis shoes. He recently stopped training because of an incident he had while running through a different community where he was held at gunpoint. This is only one of multiple incidents like this but it does not stop him from running and to keep motivating the youth and people of his community.

Basketball or Nothing

A 10 episode documentary on the Chinle Wildcats boys basketball team on the Navajo Nation from the 2018-2019 season. In the series they are on a quest to win a state championship. They discuss different things such as their responsibilities when outside of basketball such as caring for their siblings or other family members. But aside from that they are fully committed to the sport of basketball and sometimes it's their only outlet or a way to go to college with a scholarship. In the start of the episode they share that there isn't much to do in Chinle as there are no theaters, recreational facilities, and teen centers or clubs. This leads a lot of young adults to go down the wrong path and get into underage drinking or drugs. The main focus of this series is to highlight that basketball can be the only thing they have in their life and could be the purpose to succeed. There's really no outlet for the kids or the adults,” (2019). This statement from the introduction to the show made me think of my topic right away. For many of these boys from the Navajo Nation they face the same issues many native american athletes face all over the country and that is having an outlet so they will avoid following in the bad action such as other people from their communities have. A lot of athletes have chosen to do sports and when sports is the only thing you have you do it to the best of your ability and have the drive to be the best.

“Basketball or Nothing: Netflix Official Site.” Basketball or Nothing | Netflix Official Site, 2 Aug. 2019,

https://www.netflix.com/title/80245353. accessed November 20,2021.

PERSPECTIVE, 01 May 2018. New York City, NY. accessed 08 Oct. 2021.

Claremont, Tanski. Diversify Collegiate Athletics Through Native American Communities. RISE

Horse. Perry G. Native American Identity. New Directions For Student Services. Wiley

Periodicals Inc. 2005. Print. PP 61-68.

Jenkins,Sally.Why Jim Thorpe’s Olympic Records Still not Recognized. Smithsonian Magazine,

FAME BEYOND THE GAME - OREN LYONS, ONCE A STAR SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY GOALKEEPER AND NOW A GLOBAL ADVOCATE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, ENTERS THE LACROSSE HALL OF FAME.

The article was about Oren Lyons who was a former lacrosse goalkeeper for Syracuse University. He contributed to his team on and off the court to lead them all into an undefeated season. He was recognized for his contribution and he was going to be the second native american inducted into the Lacrosse hall of fame. During his induction speech he shares that Native American athletes are overlooked compared to any other athletes across North America. He shared that his team was playing against the Iroquois team so he decided to play with the Iroquois team instead of his school's team and they won that game showing that they are more than capable of being recognized and have more native players in the hall of fame. Even still it is hard to be recognized and be inducted if you do not play in college or are a recognizable figure in the sport you will have an extremely low chance of being in the hall of fame. The article pretty much summed us as this and sadly that is the true reality of the diversity native americans face in the sports community.

Cvent Announces Five-Time Olympian, Allyson Felix, as a Keynote Speaker for its Annual User Conference Cvent CONNECT is about a woman named Allyson Felix. She is a five time Olympian and the most decorated woman in the U.S. Track and Field history, will be one of the keynote speakers at their annual customer conference Cvent CONNECT. The in person conference was hosted at CAESARS FORUM in Las Vegas, Nevada. After a successful career in track & field, Allyson now uses her platform and first hand experience to drive inclusivity and equity in both sports and business. She has become an inspiration for everyone looking into sports and business equity and her advocacy has raised awareness of the issues that occur in women in sports.

The Grizzlies I discovered it is about A small Arctic town of Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Russ Sheppard takes up a job as a history teacher to pay off his college debt to the Canadian government while waiting for an offer from St. Andrews, a prep school. In his first class, he meets Inuit students Miranda, Zach, Spring, Roger, and Kyle. His first day ends with absentees, cultural miscommunication, and a fist fight with a student. Russ complains to principal Janace, but she is reluctant to punish him as their struggles are a result of their culture putting family first and unnecessary education last. They see the problems within the community for example teen suicide and he decides to show the community youth the sport of

Russ and Mike see a funeral procession for a teen suicide which is the second of the month. That night, Russ hears an argument in the house across from him, and sees Kyle running away. The next night, an injured Spring goes to Russ’ house, pursued by an inebriated Roger. Russ confronts him the next day, and dismisses his heartbreak over his girlfriend. Roger commits suicide.Russ practices lacrosse at an abandoned cargo container and discovers Kyle is sleeping there. After this interaction he wants to share a new sport with the community that will give them something to care about and it works. The teens enjoy the sport and it has a positive impact on their life not only in the sport but at their homes, and in the classrooms too.