Post by blackcrowheart on Jul 5, 2006 12:58:51 GMT -5
Indian games begin
Athletes from Ute, other tribes meet for North American event
Tuesday, July 4th 2006
By Joe Hanel | Journal Denver Bureau
DENVER - The Canadians have invaded.
Journal/Joe Hanel
Corey Jefferson, of Aurora, in traditional dress, leads Team Colorado into Invesco Field at Mile High on Sunday night during the parade of athletes at the opening ceremony for the North American Indigenous Games. For the next week, athletes from the United States and Canada will compete in 16 sports. Jefferson, a Navajo, will compete in swimming Wednesday.Thousands of them streamed into Denver on Sunday, waving their flags and banners at the city's football stadium.
The occasion was the start of the North American Indigenous Games, which happen every three or four years.
On Sunday evening, athletes and fans watched the opening ceremony at Invesco Field at Mile High.
For the next week, more than 8,000 young native people from 22 U.S. states and 12 Canadian provinces will compete in basketball, track and field, archery, golf, wrestling and 11 other sports at venues around the Denver area.
“A lot of people. There’s a lot of competition here,” said Anthony Howell, a basketball player from Ignacio.
Teams are based on states and provinces, not on individual tribes. The Ute Mountain and Southern Ute tribes sent 83 of Team Colorado’s 132 athletes, said Ute Mountain Ute tribal member Bob Roybal, Colorado’s leader, or chef de mission.
Other athletes come from the Denver area’s diverse American Indian population.
Corey Jefferson is a Navajo who lives in Aurora. He’ll be competing in swimming this week, but Sunday night, he couldn’t make it more than a few feet around the stadium without a spectator asking for a picture. The reason: his traditional white costume with red and blue trim, which he wore as he danced and led Team Colorado onto the field.
The ceremony began like the Olympics, with athletes parading into the stadium in an hour-long procession. The Canadians fielded the biggest teams, some more than 500 strong.
As hosts, the Coloradans went last, forcing them to wait outside in a rain shower.
“A long wait, and this weather has held it up,” said McKean Walton of Ignacio, Team Colorado’s assistant chef de mission. “But we got everybody together, from here in Denver and back home in Ignacio and Towaoc.”
Walton predicts Team Colorado’s blue-and-white warmup suit will be the hot item of the week. He’s already had three offers from Canadian athletes to trade jackets.
The ceremony included a welcome letter from President Bush, performances by American Indian rock and hip-hop groups and a Ute Bear Dance.
The games almost didn’t happen this year.
The Canadian government pays much of the bill when the games are on Canadian soil, but the United States has twice failed to put on the games. Fargo, N.D., had to call off the 1999 games because of floods, and Buffalo, N.Y., couldn’t put together the games last year.
That’s when the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute tribes put in $600,000 each to bring the games to Colorado. Subsequent donations brought their total to $2 million.
“It’s been a big leaning experience, not only for the Utes, but for everyone involved,” Roybal said. “I think it’s made the Canadians aware of how difficult it is to get things together in the lower 48.”
Reach Joe Hanel at jhanel@durangoherald.com.
Athletes from Ute, other tribes meet for North American event
Tuesday, July 4th 2006
By Joe Hanel | Journal Denver Bureau
DENVER - The Canadians have invaded.
Journal/Joe Hanel
Corey Jefferson, of Aurora, in traditional dress, leads Team Colorado into Invesco Field at Mile High on Sunday night during the parade of athletes at the opening ceremony for the North American Indigenous Games. For the next week, athletes from the United States and Canada will compete in 16 sports. Jefferson, a Navajo, will compete in swimming Wednesday.Thousands of them streamed into Denver on Sunday, waving their flags and banners at the city's football stadium.
The occasion was the start of the North American Indigenous Games, which happen every three or four years.
On Sunday evening, athletes and fans watched the opening ceremony at Invesco Field at Mile High.
For the next week, more than 8,000 young native people from 22 U.S. states and 12 Canadian provinces will compete in basketball, track and field, archery, golf, wrestling and 11 other sports at venues around the Denver area.
“A lot of people. There’s a lot of competition here,” said Anthony Howell, a basketball player from Ignacio.
Teams are based on states and provinces, not on individual tribes. The Ute Mountain and Southern Ute tribes sent 83 of Team Colorado’s 132 athletes, said Ute Mountain Ute tribal member Bob Roybal, Colorado’s leader, or chef de mission.
Other athletes come from the Denver area’s diverse American Indian population.
Corey Jefferson is a Navajo who lives in Aurora. He’ll be competing in swimming this week, but Sunday night, he couldn’t make it more than a few feet around the stadium without a spectator asking for a picture. The reason: his traditional white costume with red and blue trim, which he wore as he danced and led Team Colorado onto the field.
The ceremony began like the Olympics, with athletes parading into the stadium in an hour-long procession. The Canadians fielded the biggest teams, some more than 500 strong.
As hosts, the Coloradans went last, forcing them to wait outside in a rain shower.
“A long wait, and this weather has held it up,” said McKean Walton of Ignacio, Team Colorado’s assistant chef de mission. “But we got everybody together, from here in Denver and back home in Ignacio and Towaoc.”
Walton predicts Team Colorado’s blue-and-white warmup suit will be the hot item of the week. He’s already had three offers from Canadian athletes to trade jackets.
The ceremony included a welcome letter from President Bush, performances by American Indian rock and hip-hop groups and a Ute Bear Dance.
The games almost didn’t happen this year.
The Canadian government pays much of the bill when the games are on Canadian soil, but the United States has twice failed to put on the games. Fargo, N.D., had to call off the 1999 games because of floods, and Buffalo, N.Y., couldn’t put together the games last year.
That’s when the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute tribes put in $600,000 each to bring the games to Colorado. Subsequent donations brought their total to $2 million.
“It’s been a big leaning experience, not only for the Utes, but for everyone involved,” Roybal said. “I think it’s made the Canadians aware of how difficult it is to get things together in the lower 48.”
Reach Joe Hanel at jhanel@durangoherald.com.