Post by blackcrowheart on Aug 30, 2006 16:05:25 GMT -5
Return of Native athletic events a sign of a healthy lifestyle
bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/08/27/news/local/119790.txt
<http://bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/08/27/news/local/119790.txt>
NEW TOWN - Marty Young Bear stood in the middle of the dance arena as
singers slapped drumsticks against rawhide drums and spectators whooped
and hollered in a salute to the Warrior of the Plains.
The 26-year-old smiled and modestly accepted a new saddle, part of an
award that accompanied a $1,500 cash prize in an ultimate test of
athletic endurance.
The Warrior of the Plains contest was held last week during the Fort
Berthold Reservation's "Reunion at the Home of Sakakawea," the
second-to-last of 15 national Lewis and Clark Signature Events staged
around the country over the past two years.
<http://adsys.townnews.com/c33722724/creative/bismarcktribune.com/bismar\
cktribune.com+news+local+bigad/17467.gif?r=http://www.waterfordbismarck.\
com>
Young Bear of Mandaree earned his warrior title during an 8-mile race
requiring him to run a grueling cross-country course, paddle a windy
stretch of lake and ride a fast and spirited horse.
Prizes were given to the top three finishers. David Dobbs of New Town
and Michael Linklater of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, placed second and
third, respectively.
My nieces, sister and I walked up a steep hill overlooking Lake
Sakakawea on a Friday morning to watch the contest as hundreds of others
cheered the contestants from below.
We had a spectacular view of the course, which was monitored from atop
the hill by some race officials.
Linklater, of the Thunderchild First Nation Reserve, took the lead early
on foot and in the canoe.
But Young Bear caught him at the first lake buoy. Dobbs held a steady
position among the top five contestants in the canoe and on foot.
Linklater, 23, reclaimed his lead once he landed his canoe and started
running.
The shirtless, shoeless champion runner - he decided not to put on his
shoes after getting out of the canoe so he wouldn't lose time - quickly
put hundreds of yards between him and the pack.
The contest was ultimately determined by horsemanship.
Linklater lost his lead to Young Bear and 15-year-old Dobbs - both
citizens of the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation.
Young Bear's feet never touched the ground as he moved from one horse to
the next.
Dobbs - my brother's son - is a rodeo champion who has been competing
since he was 10.
Women also competed, the day before, in a similar contest plotted as a
three-person relay.
The Warrior of the Plains contest marks a recent surge among tribes in
the past five years to recognize outstanding athletes, many leading
drug- and alcohol-free lives.
In Arizona, the annual Lori Piestewa National Native American Games were
introduced three years ago, drawing 1,500 athletes from five states.
And in July, more than 7,000 Native athletes - a record - participated
in the North American Indigenous Games.
The event marked only the second time the games were played in the
United States. The NAIG competitions are expected to draw 9,000 athletes
to British Columbia in 2008.
Also, the Native American Basketball Invitational, or NABI Hoops,
debuted in 2003.
It attracts some of the country's best high school basketball players.
Teams should be organizing now if they plan to compete in the 2007
tournament July 8-14 in Phoenix.
Fort Berthold's Warrior of the Plains contest is the first such event on
the reservation in recent memory.
Organizers modeled the all-around sporting event after the Crow Nation's
Ultimate Warrior Challenge Triathlon - that event was organized about
six years ago.
This year, the Ultimate Warrior winner took home a $6,000 prize, while
the women relay competitors split a purse for the same amount.
Young Bear not only claimed the warrior title this year at Fort
Berthold, but also won the Ultimate Warrior Challenge last year in Crow
Agency, Mont.
I've been fortunate to see athletes compete in nearly all of these
sporting events.
They've been an inspiration to me, their families and communities.
The recent surge in Native athletic events is a positive signal that
tribal people are once again embracing a healthy lifestyle once
ingrained in the culture.
Now it's up to families and communities to keep the momentum alive.
(Jodi Rave covers Native issues for Lee Enterprises. Reach her at
800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@;lee.net.)
bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/08/27/news/local/119790.txt
<http://bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/08/27/news/local/119790.txt>
NEW TOWN - Marty Young Bear stood in the middle of the dance arena as
singers slapped drumsticks against rawhide drums and spectators whooped
and hollered in a salute to the Warrior of the Plains.
The 26-year-old smiled and modestly accepted a new saddle, part of an
award that accompanied a $1,500 cash prize in an ultimate test of
athletic endurance.
The Warrior of the Plains contest was held last week during the Fort
Berthold Reservation's "Reunion at the Home of Sakakawea," the
second-to-last of 15 national Lewis and Clark Signature Events staged
around the country over the past two years.
<http://adsys.townnews.com/c33722724/creative/bismarcktribune.com/bismar\
cktribune.com+news+local+bigad/17467.gif?r=http://www.waterfordbismarck.\
com>
Young Bear of Mandaree earned his warrior title during an 8-mile race
requiring him to run a grueling cross-country course, paddle a windy
stretch of lake and ride a fast and spirited horse.
Prizes were given to the top three finishers. David Dobbs of New Town
and Michael Linklater of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, placed second and
third, respectively.
My nieces, sister and I walked up a steep hill overlooking Lake
Sakakawea on a Friday morning to watch the contest as hundreds of others
cheered the contestants from below.
We had a spectacular view of the course, which was monitored from atop
the hill by some race officials.
Linklater, of the Thunderchild First Nation Reserve, took the lead early
on foot and in the canoe.
But Young Bear caught him at the first lake buoy. Dobbs held a steady
position among the top five contestants in the canoe and on foot.
Linklater, 23, reclaimed his lead once he landed his canoe and started
running.
The shirtless, shoeless champion runner - he decided not to put on his
shoes after getting out of the canoe so he wouldn't lose time - quickly
put hundreds of yards between him and the pack.
The contest was ultimately determined by horsemanship.
Linklater lost his lead to Young Bear and 15-year-old Dobbs - both
citizens of the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation.
Young Bear's feet never touched the ground as he moved from one horse to
the next.
Dobbs - my brother's son - is a rodeo champion who has been competing
since he was 10.
Women also competed, the day before, in a similar contest plotted as a
three-person relay.
The Warrior of the Plains contest marks a recent surge among tribes in
the past five years to recognize outstanding athletes, many leading
drug- and alcohol-free lives.
In Arizona, the annual Lori Piestewa National Native American Games were
introduced three years ago, drawing 1,500 athletes from five states.
And in July, more than 7,000 Native athletes - a record - participated
in the North American Indigenous Games.
The event marked only the second time the games were played in the
United States. The NAIG competitions are expected to draw 9,000 athletes
to British Columbia in 2008.
Also, the Native American Basketball Invitational, or NABI Hoops,
debuted in 2003.
It attracts some of the country's best high school basketball players.
Teams should be organizing now if they plan to compete in the 2007
tournament July 8-14 in Phoenix.
Fort Berthold's Warrior of the Plains contest is the first such event on
the reservation in recent memory.
Organizers modeled the all-around sporting event after the Crow Nation's
Ultimate Warrior Challenge Triathlon - that event was organized about
six years ago.
This year, the Ultimate Warrior winner took home a $6,000 prize, while
the women relay competitors split a purse for the same amount.
Young Bear not only claimed the warrior title this year at Fort
Berthold, but also won the Ultimate Warrior Challenge last year in Crow
Agency, Mont.
I've been fortunate to see athletes compete in nearly all of these
sporting events.
They've been an inspiration to me, their families and communities.
The recent surge in Native athletic events is a positive signal that
tribal people are once again embracing a healthy lifestyle once
ingrained in the culture.
Now it's up to families and communities to keep the momentum alive.
(Jodi Rave covers Native issues for Lee Enterprises. Reach her at
800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@;lee.net.)