Post by Okwes on Jun 2, 2008 10:58:02 GMT -5
American Indians' Untold Baseball Stories
15 May 2008
www.voanews.com/english/americanlife/2008-05-15-voa27.cfm?rss=spo\
rts
<http://www.voanews.com/english/americanlife/2008-05-15-voa27.cfm?rss=sp\
orts>
Baseball fans around the world have probably heard of two of America's
major league teams, the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves. Both
names refer to American Indians, although the teams themselves have no
connection with tribal culture. But few fans have heard the names
Charles Bender or Louis Sockalexis, legendary baseball players who
really were American Indians. A new exhibit at a museum in New York
State hopes to change that. It celebrates the role of America's first
people in America's pastime. David Sommerstein reports.
The Iroquois Confederacy, a group of six American Indian tribes, once
reigned across much of the northeastern United States and eastern
Canada. Today, the Iroquois Museum in upstate New York commemorates that
legacy. The museum's cedar shingles resemble the elm bark of a
traditional Iroquois longhouse, or meeting place.
[The Iroquois Museum exhibit recognizes Native Americans' contributions
to baseball, past and present ] The Iroquois Museum exhibit recognizes
American Indian contributions to baseball, past and present With major
league baseball's hall of fame a short drive away in Cooperstown, it's
the ideal meeting place to tell the largely invisible history of
American Indian ball players. Inside, you're greeted by more than a
dozen black-and-white photos of players with American Indian ancestry.
Many are household names.
Exhibit visitor Rosemary Joyce looks them over in amazement. "Bucky Dent
and Johnny Bench and Early Wynn… I didn't know there were this many
American Indians in baseball. In fact, I was surprised at the names.
Names I always heard growing up when I was a teenager."
[Louis Sockalexis, (on the left, with teammates) was the first Native
American to play in the major leagues] Louis Sockalexis, (on the left,
with teammates) was the first American Indian to play in the major
leaguesThere are less famous names too. Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscott
Indian from Maine, became the first American Indian to play in the major
leagues, with the Cleveland Spiders in 1897. Sockalexis was a victim of
alcoholism and the racist taunts of fellow players. His career lasted
just three seasons.
There's Charles Bender, an Ojibwa from Minnesota, one of two American
Indian Hall of Famers. His huge hand-carved bat is one of the
collection's treasures.
At least 47 men of native descent have played in the big leagues. A full
ten of them were simply called "Chief."
Erynn Ansel-McCabe, the museum's director, says their stories haven't
been told yet. "I want everyone to know about these stories in order to
[sort of] add to the richness of the baseball game itself."
At the exhibit's official opening, organ music helped create that
ballpark feel. So did the food – hot dogs and beer.
[Mike Tarbell inherited the love of baseball from his uncle Joe,
pictured in the exhibit] Mike Tarbell inherited the love of baseball
from his uncle Joe, pictured in the exhibitMike Tarbell, a Mohawk with a
graying ponytail and a beaming smile, spins a baseball in his right
hand. "Thirty-four years ago, I put this ball down," he muses. " I just
remembered the things I could do with this. How I could make it dance
through the air." Tarbell was a star pitcher for a semi-pro team in
Syracuse. But his career was cut short by injuries suffered during his
tour of duty in Vietnam. Today is actually the first time he's picked up
a baseball in 34 years. "The smile came back. Even if I had a bad day
pitching, it was still a good day because I was playing the game."
Tarbell comes from a family of ballplayers, whose history may be the
most fascinating part of the exhibit. Three of Tarbell's uncles played
baseball for the Carlyle, Pennsylvania, Indian boarding school.
Beginning in the late 1800s, American Indian teenagers were forcibly
taken from their families to be civilized, as it was said, at schools
far from the reservation. For boys, baseball was a tool of assimilation.
Valerie Tarbell, Mike's cousin, stares at a photo of her grandfather
Joe. "He died before I was born," she says. "I never knew him, but I
heard so much about him, and to see this just brings him more alive to
me."
[The Carlisle Indian school baseball team; Joe Tarbell is at the top
left ] The Carlisle Indian school baseball team; Joe Tarbell is at the
top left She turns to a team photo of the Carlyle Indians. Eleven boys
stare stoically at the camera. "They don't look too happy," she points
out. "They're not smiling and it was my cousin Mike who said, 'Well, of
course they're not smiling, they were at the Indian school.' They were
brought there. They didn't necessarily want to be there, but there's
also intensity about them, that the game was so important. I never
realized how important it was."
The Indian schoolboys took refuge in baseball to survive. Like many of
them, Joe Tarbell eventually escaped and returned to his reservation. He
brought baseball with him.
By the time Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947,
dozens of native men had already been playing in the major leagues.
Exhibit curator Stephanie Schultiss says they experienced a mix of
racism and acceptance.
She points to Hall-of-Famer Charles Bender's huge bat and says he's a
perfect example of that. "I have one quote from Bender where he's
obviously faced hecklers on the field, and he says, 'You ignorant,
ill-bred foreigners, go back to your own land.' But then in one very
long quote, he says how good baseball was for him and how everyone
treated him well while he was playing baseball, so you'd have some good
times and some bad times."
For decades, Native American stereotypes pervaded major league baseball.
Team names like the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves still carry
that legacy. But the names on everyone's lips today tell a new
story… two rookie phenoms at the heart of baseball's biggest
rivalry: Jacoby Ellsbury and Joba Chamberlain.
Jacoby Ellsbury is Navajo. He plays centerfield for the Boston Red Sox.
Joba Chamberlain is half-Winnebago. He plays for the New York Yankees,
just south of here.
[Joba Chamberlain poses with reporter David Sommerstein at Yankee
Stadium, before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays] Joba Chamberlain
poses with reporter David Sommerstein at Yankee Stadium, before a game
against the Tampa Bay RaysChamberlain exploded onto the major league
scene last fall with a 160-kilometer-an-hour fastball. And he has talked
proudly about his native heritage on the reservation in Nebraska. "We
have family there, so we always went back for pow-wows and we always
went back for everything, so it was always a part of my life and always
has been significant, and as I got older, it definitely got more
significant." He's contributed star-power and two signed balls to the
Iroquois Museum's exhibit.
"I hope [the exhibit] opens a lot of people's eyes," he says. He wants
people to realize that there's more to Native Americans than traditional
pow-wows and modern casinos. "Hopefully it makes people realize that we
are all equal."
The folks at the Iroquois Museum have high hopes for today's American
Indian players. Maybe they can spark a baseball resurgence in Indian
Country, where basketball and lacrosse – an American Indian game
from this part of the country – are more popular. And maybe, says
curator Stephanie Schultiss, Chamberlain and Ellsbury can help tell the
real story of native people in America today. "Native Americans* do
exist. They didn't die when the cowboys and Indians were fighting each
other. They don't wear feathers anymore, so this is their platform to be
good at what they do as well as explain who they are and what kind of
people Native American people are."
The exhibit, Baseball's League of Nations: A Tribute to Native American
Baseball Players, is on display at the Iroquois Museum through December.
*Native Americans is synonymous with American Indians in the U.S.
15 May 2008
www.voanews.com/english/americanlife/2008-05-15-voa27.cfm?rss=spo\
rts
<http://www.voanews.com/english/americanlife/2008-05-15-voa27.cfm?rss=sp\
orts>
Baseball fans around the world have probably heard of two of America's
major league teams, the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves. Both
names refer to American Indians, although the teams themselves have no
connection with tribal culture. But few fans have heard the names
Charles Bender or Louis Sockalexis, legendary baseball players who
really were American Indians. A new exhibit at a museum in New York
State hopes to change that. It celebrates the role of America's first
people in America's pastime. David Sommerstein reports.
The Iroquois Confederacy, a group of six American Indian tribes, once
reigned across much of the northeastern United States and eastern
Canada. Today, the Iroquois Museum in upstate New York commemorates that
legacy. The museum's cedar shingles resemble the elm bark of a
traditional Iroquois longhouse, or meeting place.
[The Iroquois Museum exhibit recognizes Native Americans' contributions
to baseball, past and present ] The Iroquois Museum exhibit recognizes
American Indian contributions to baseball, past and present With major
league baseball's hall of fame a short drive away in Cooperstown, it's
the ideal meeting place to tell the largely invisible history of
American Indian ball players. Inside, you're greeted by more than a
dozen black-and-white photos of players with American Indian ancestry.
Many are household names.
Exhibit visitor Rosemary Joyce looks them over in amazement. "Bucky Dent
and Johnny Bench and Early Wynn… I didn't know there were this many
American Indians in baseball. In fact, I was surprised at the names.
Names I always heard growing up when I was a teenager."
[Louis Sockalexis, (on the left, with teammates) was the first Native
American to play in the major leagues] Louis Sockalexis, (on the left,
with teammates) was the first American Indian to play in the major
leaguesThere are less famous names too. Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscott
Indian from Maine, became the first American Indian to play in the major
leagues, with the Cleveland Spiders in 1897. Sockalexis was a victim of
alcoholism and the racist taunts of fellow players. His career lasted
just three seasons.
There's Charles Bender, an Ojibwa from Minnesota, one of two American
Indian Hall of Famers. His huge hand-carved bat is one of the
collection's treasures.
At least 47 men of native descent have played in the big leagues. A full
ten of them were simply called "Chief."
Erynn Ansel-McCabe, the museum's director, says their stories haven't
been told yet. "I want everyone to know about these stories in order to
[sort of] add to the richness of the baseball game itself."
At the exhibit's official opening, organ music helped create that
ballpark feel. So did the food – hot dogs and beer.
[Mike Tarbell inherited the love of baseball from his uncle Joe,
pictured in the exhibit] Mike Tarbell inherited the love of baseball
from his uncle Joe, pictured in the exhibitMike Tarbell, a Mohawk with a
graying ponytail and a beaming smile, spins a baseball in his right
hand. "Thirty-four years ago, I put this ball down," he muses. " I just
remembered the things I could do with this. How I could make it dance
through the air." Tarbell was a star pitcher for a semi-pro team in
Syracuse. But his career was cut short by injuries suffered during his
tour of duty in Vietnam. Today is actually the first time he's picked up
a baseball in 34 years. "The smile came back. Even if I had a bad day
pitching, it was still a good day because I was playing the game."
Tarbell comes from a family of ballplayers, whose history may be the
most fascinating part of the exhibit. Three of Tarbell's uncles played
baseball for the Carlyle, Pennsylvania, Indian boarding school.
Beginning in the late 1800s, American Indian teenagers were forcibly
taken from their families to be civilized, as it was said, at schools
far from the reservation. For boys, baseball was a tool of assimilation.
Valerie Tarbell, Mike's cousin, stares at a photo of her grandfather
Joe. "He died before I was born," she says. "I never knew him, but I
heard so much about him, and to see this just brings him more alive to
me."
[The Carlisle Indian school baseball team; Joe Tarbell is at the top
left ] The Carlisle Indian school baseball team; Joe Tarbell is at the
top left She turns to a team photo of the Carlyle Indians. Eleven boys
stare stoically at the camera. "They don't look too happy," she points
out. "They're not smiling and it was my cousin Mike who said, 'Well, of
course they're not smiling, they were at the Indian school.' They were
brought there. They didn't necessarily want to be there, but there's
also intensity about them, that the game was so important. I never
realized how important it was."
The Indian schoolboys took refuge in baseball to survive. Like many of
them, Joe Tarbell eventually escaped and returned to his reservation. He
brought baseball with him.
By the time Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947,
dozens of native men had already been playing in the major leagues.
Exhibit curator Stephanie Schultiss says they experienced a mix of
racism and acceptance.
She points to Hall-of-Famer Charles Bender's huge bat and says he's a
perfect example of that. "I have one quote from Bender where he's
obviously faced hecklers on the field, and he says, 'You ignorant,
ill-bred foreigners, go back to your own land.' But then in one very
long quote, he says how good baseball was for him and how everyone
treated him well while he was playing baseball, so you'd have some good
times and some bad times."
For decades, Native American stereotypes pervaded major league baseball.
Team names like the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves still carry
that legacy. But the names on everyone's lips today tell a new
story… two rookie phenoms at the heart of baseball's biggest
rivalry: Jacoby Ellsbury and Joba Chamberlain.
Jacoby Ellsbury is Navajo. He plays centerfield for the Boston Red Sox.
Joba Chamberlain is half-Winnebago. He plays for the New York Yankees,
just south of here.
[Joba Chamberlain poses with reporter David Sommerstein at Yankee
Stadium, before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays] Joba Chamberlain
poses with reporter David Sommerstein at Yankee Stadium, before a game
against the Tampa Bay RaysChamberlain exploded onto the major league
scene last fall with a 160-kilometer-an-hour fastball. And he has talked
proudly about his native heritage on the reservation in Nebraska. "We
have family there, so we always went back for pow-wows and we always
went back for everything, so it was always a part of my life and always
has been significant, and as I got older, it definitely got more
significant." He's contributed star-power and two signed balls to the
Iroquois Museum's exhibit.
"I hope [the exhibit] opens a lot of people's eyes," he says. He wants
people to realize that there's more to Native Americans than traditional
pow-wows and modern casinos. "Hopefully it makes people realize that we
are all equal."
The folks at the Iroquois Museum have high hopes for today's American
Indian players. Maybe they can spark a baseball resurgence in Indian
Country, where basketball and lacrosse – an American Indian game
from this part of the country – are more popular. And maybe, says
curator Stephanie Schultiss, Chamberlain and Ellsbury can help tell the
real story of native people in America today. "Native Americans* do
exist. They didn't die when the cowboys and Indians were fighting each
other. They don't wear feathers anymore, so this is their platform to be
good at what they do as well as explain who they are and what kind of
people Native American people are."
The exhibit, Baseball's League of Nations: A Tribute to Native American
Baseball Players, is on display at the Iroquois Museum through December.
*Native Americans is synonymous with American Indians in the U.S.