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Introduction: The North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (NAIAHF) honors and recognizes the indigenous sport cultures of 27 countries of North America by recognizing outstanding leadership and achievement in individual and team athletics. By honoring and celebrating the empowered journey of the annually inducted individuals and teams, the hope is their stories may inspire future generations to follow their dreams in athletics and life. Nomination Process: Nominations for individuals and teams to be considered for induction into the annual North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame are accepted throughout the course of the year until the October 21st noon central time deadline. Nominations are accepted for individuals or teams in the following categories: • Athlete • Coach • Team • Builder • Media • Official • Trainer Inductee eligibility: Inductees are recognized and honored, past and present, as Indigenous to North America including but not limited to Tribal, First Nation, Métis, Inuit including federally recognized and self-identified descendant in the listed categories throughout the year. Inductee’s may also be considered who are indigenous to North America and compete outside of North American and those who are indigenous outside of North America and compete in North America. The inductee’s credentials need to include being at the highest state, provincial, region, national or international sport recognition, and/or being recognized in college or professional athletic realms. To receive a nomination form or for additional information, contact Dr. Dan Ninham at 218.368.6430 (text preferred) or coach.danninham@gmail.co m . The annual nomination deadline is noon central time on October 21st for the next year induction. The inductee’s credentials need to include being at the highest state, provincial, region, national, international sport recognition, and/or being recognized in college or professional athletic realms. Induction Recognition: There may be a virtual banquet recognition to be determined. There will not be a hall of fame facility or in person awards banquet. Each inductee will receive a certificate. The stories of the inductees will be produced in online print and video in addition to being in a curriculum to be provided to schools and recreation communities. The induction announcement will be made on January 2nd of each induction class year.

Athletes Angelo Baca Diné/Hopi Brent Reiter Menominee Dean Hill Mohawk Eddie Lone Eagle Red Lake Band of Ojibwe Gewas Schindler Oneida Jeff Shattler Ojibwa Kali “KO” Mequinonoag Reis Seaconke Wampanoag Leanne Sirup Inuit Neal Powless Onondaga Shayna Powless Oneida Awehiyo Thomas Cayuga Carol Pickett Hull Inupiaq Delby Powless Mohawk Ernie Stevens Jr. Oneida Henry Boucha Ojibwe Jim Neilson Big River First Nation Katie Taylor Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Liz Duval Metis Neilson Powless Oneida Tanner Albers Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Becki Wells Staley Blackfeet and Blood Carolyn Darbyshire-McRorie Metis Drew Bucktooth Oneida Gary Sargent Red Lake Ojibwe Jack Powless Oneida Joy SpearChief-Morris Blackfoot (Kainai) Kayla Gardner Eagle Lake First Nation Martin Wheelock Oneida Nicole Johnson Inupiaq Terae Briggs Crow Brady Fairbanks Leech Lake Ojibwe David Powless Oneida Earl Sargent Red Lake Band of Ojibwe George "Comanche Boy" Tahdooahnippah Comanche James Lavallée Métis J.R. Conrad Eastern Shawnee Kyle Ḵaayák’w Worl Tlingit, Deg Hit’an Athabascan and Yup'ik Maurice “Mo” Smith Navajo Rob McClain Muscogee Creek/Red Lake Ojibwe

Drew Bucktooth Category Athlete Tribe Oneida Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 2/3/1981 Drew Bucktooth is a lacrosse and hockey player from the Onondaga Nation in upstate NY. As a member of the Syracuse Stars hockey team he played against the highest level and won back to back state championships, a national championship and a world championship and was MVP of the world championship game. As a 16 year old, Drew was selected for the United States National team but was drafted and played in the OHL instead but still played for Team USA in international competitions and was named the team captain. In lacrosse, the first goal Drew ever scored was on his own goalie, but he made sure to do it correctly after that. As an eighth grader Drew led the varsity lacrosse team in scoring, as a ninth grader he led his league in scoring. As a 10th grader Drew once again led his team in scoring and earned All American, one of only two lacrosse players in NY state history to earn the title of All American as a 10th grader. When Drew was 15 he competed with the Iroquois Nationals in the U19 world lacrosse championships in Japan, although Drew was the youngest player there, he led the tournament in scoring and was named to the All World Team. A few years later the Lacrosse World Championships were held in Australia, and again Drew was named to the All World Team and has the distinction as the only person in history to make the U19 All World Team twice. As a member of the Onondaga RedHawks, his team captured the Presidents cup twice, which is the Canadian National box lacrosse championship. These days Drew can still be found in and out of hockey rinks and lacrosse fields coaching his four sons, Blake, Gavin, Dylan and Cruze. Home About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

David Powless Category Athlete Tribe Oneida Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 5/29/43 David Powless’ high school football team was the undefeated Illinois State Champions of 1960. He was an All State offensive tackle. He received college football scholarship offers. He chose the Oklahoma University (OU). He left OU as a sophomore and went to the University of Illinois and played offensive guard on the University of Illinois Big 10 and Rose Bowl Championship team in 1964. In 1965 as a graduating senior he was drafted in the National Football League (NFL) by the New York Giants and also by the American Football League (AFL) by the Kansas Chiefs. He was with the New York Giants one year and then went to the Washington Redskins his second year. That year he had a spinal injury requiring surgery that ended his football career. Powless worked for Native American tribes including his Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. He also owned several personal businesses. His expertise was in economic development. In 1983 he received an award in the “White House Rose Garden” from Vice President of the United States George Bush for the development of recycling technology. In 2008 he was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame for his athletic contributions. Home About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

Sunnie R. Clahchischilgi Category Media Tribe Diné (Navajo) Year Inducted 2022 Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi is a longtime storyteller from the Navajo Nation. She spent over a decade as sportswriter for the Navajo Times, telling stories of high school, college, and professional Navajo athletes. Clahchischiligi, a former athlete, developed an admiration for sports and storytelling at a young age. She completed six internships in three years, one at Sports Illustrated magazine in New York City. Clahchischiligi earned multiple awards for her writing in sports, editorial, community coverage, elder coverage, and investigative reporting. She wrote for the St. Cloud Times, the Albuquerque Journal, the Santa Fe New Mexican, the Osage News, Searchlight NM, and the Salt Lake Tribune. From her extensive coverage of basketball on the Navajo Nation, she has been dubbed an expert in rezball, a fast-paced style of basketball played throughout Indian Country. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian, to name a few. Clahchischiligi has a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of New Mexico, a master’s degree in rhetoric, writing, and digital media studies from Northern Arizona University, and is currently a PhD candidate in rhetoric and writing at UNM. She also teaches composition in the English department. Home About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

< Back Vic Mercredi ​ ​ ​ Vic Mercredi Métis Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Vic Mercredi achieved the honour of being the first player born and raised in the Northwest Territories to be drafted and signed by a National Hockey League Team in 1973. Mercredi started his junior career in 1969 playing in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League for the Penticton Broncos. In his first season he scored 16 goals and 34 points in 48 games. He followed this season by continuing and improving with 50 goals and 106 points in 51 games, making many take note of his skills as an offensive player. He was awarded the British Columbia Junior Hockey League Most Valuable Player trophy and was a unanimous First Team All-Star. After two seasons with the Broncos, Mercredi moved up to major junior hockey playing two seasons with the New Westminster Bruins in the Western Canada Junior Hockey League. He continued to grow and establish himself as a solid offensive player, scoring 24 goals and 54 points in 68 games. Mercredi could shoot equally well both left-handed and right handed. He took advantage of this unique ability by using a straight stick. In 1973, Mercredi was drafted 16th overall in the first round of the 1973 National Hockey League Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Flames and 35th overall in the 1973 World Hockey Association Amateur Draft by the Houston Aeros. This was a start of a successful professional career that included 68 games with the 1973 Omaha Knights, scoring 21 goals and 57 points, two games in the National Hockey League with the 1974 Atlanta Flames, 64 games with the 1974 Omaha Knights scoring 10 goals and 26 points, three games with the 1975 Calgary Cowboys in the World Hockey Association, and 52 games with the 1975 Baltimore Clippers in the American Hockey League. His next stop was Stockholm, Sweden with the Hammarby IF in 1976. There he played 18 games, scoring five goals and 14 points. He returned home to the successful career with two seasons in the Pacific Hockey League playing 42 games with the 1977 Phoenix Roadrunners, scoring 16 goals and 40 points and 29 games with the 1978 Tucson Rustlers, scoring 8 goals and 28 points. Mercredi finished his career with the 1979 Delta Kings in the British Columbia Senior Hockey League. <Back

Henry Boucha Category Athlete Tribe Ojibwe Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 6/1/51 While growing up in Warroad, Minnesota, Henry Boucha played on the 1964 Bantam State Championship team, was all-conference in football, baseball, and hockey and was three-time All-State in hockey. Boucha graduated in 1969 from Warroad High School. The Warroad Warriors were runner-up at 1969 Minnesota Boys State Hockey Tournament. He signed with the Winnipeg Jets of the WCHL after high school. As an 18-year old, Boucha was chosen to represent the USA in the 1970 World Championships in Bucharest, Romania. In 1970, he was drafted in the US Army during the Vietnam War. He served two years in the Army while playing with the 1971 US World Championship Team and competing in the 1971 World Championships in Bern and Geneva Switzerland. In 1971 the Detroit Red Wings drafted him 16th overall. Still in the service he also played for the US Olympic Team in 1972 in Sapporo, Japan winning a silver medal. Boucha was the first draft choice of the Minnesota Fighting Saints in the new World Hockey Association just after the Olympics. He signed with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1971-72 season and played the last 16 games with Detroit. In 1973, he scored the fastest goal at the start of the game against the Montreal Canadians. Boucha was traded to the Minnesota North Stars in the summer of 1974. He suffered a major eye injury on January 4, 1975 when Dave Forbes of the Boston Bruins hit him with his stick resulting in a devastating and career ending eye injury. Boucha retired in 1977 as a 25-year-old. He returned to Warroad in the mid 80’s to raise his family. Henry coached youth hockey, was Indian Education Director at Warroad Public Schools, and was a realtor. He is the CEO of Boucha Films, LLC, and CEO of Boucha Films LTD, Canada. Boucha Films is currently in pre-production on the movie based on his book he authored called “Henry Boucha, Ojibwa-Native American Olympian”. ​ ​ ​ Home About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

Angelo Baca Category Athlete Tribe Diné/Hopi Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 2/13/1980 Angelo Baca is a cultural activist, scholar, filmmaker and currently a doctoral student in anthropology at New York University. He is the cultural resources coordinator at Utah Diné Bikéyah , a nonprofit organization dedicated to the defense and protection of culturally significant ancestral lands. The National Parks Conservation Association recently designated him as one of “10 Under 40” dynamic cultural activists who make up the association’s Next Generation Advisory Council. He has published a widely read op-ed in the New York Times. Shash Jaa’: Bears Ears is Angelo Baca’s latest award-winning film about the five tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition that worked together to protect 1.9 million acres of Utah wilderness through a national monument designation. His work reflects a long-standing dedication to both Western and Indigenous knowledge. Baca is also the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Champion in Cross Country and on the outdoor track in the 3000 meters steeplechase and 5000 meters in 2002-03. He also is a seven-time NJCAA All American in Cross Country, Track and the Half Marathon. Currently, he is training for trail races and long distances runs across Indigenous landscapes in Navajo country. Home About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

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Awehiyo Thomas Category Athlete Tribe Cayuga Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 5/9/1986 Awehiyo Thomas (Beautiful Flower) is Cayuga Nation, Wolf Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She played competitive lacrosse on the international, NCAA DI and professional stage, with many Player of the Game awards. Awehiyo first started playing lacrosse in 1998 for Six Nations Girls Field Lacrosse, and later traveled to Cattaraugus, NY playing many years with the Seneca Girls Lacrosse Club under Sandy Jemison. In 2003, she had her first international experience with U-19 Team Canada, finishing third and being named the third-leading scorer on the squad. Awehiyo was a walk-on starter at Syracuse University, who transferred from Canisius College in her junior year. She started all 21 games and helped the team to its first NCAA Final Four in 2008 - as a senior she started all 19 games and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness. Awehiyo was a proud member of the Haudenosaunee National Women’s Lacrosse (HNWL) Team for many years, competing on the world stage in 2009, 2013 and 2017. In 2018, she was the first Haudenosaunee woman to play professional lacrosse with the Baltimore Ride in the UWLX league. Most recently, she was a member of the HNWL Sr. Team which placed first at the Pan American Lacrosse Association in 2019. As a veteran lacrosse player of 24 years and mother of four, soon to be mother of five, she continues to be a role model for many Indigenous girls coming up. She comes from a long line of great lacrosse players in her family including Grandfather Ivan Thomas, the 1997 Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee and great-grandfather Joseph Logan Jr., maker of the “Logan Special” lacrosse stick. To this day, Awehiyo’s lacrosse display at Woodland Cultural Center in Brantford, Ontario continues to be up for the public to view. Photos: Reems Landreth and Awehiyo Thomas Home About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

Darlene Ahmo Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation Induction Category: Year Inducted Builder 2024 <Back Darlene Ahmo is the daughter of deceased Walter and Verna Fontaine from Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation, Canada. Her spirit name is “Beautiful Shawl Woman”. She attended the Fort Alexander Residential School and Day School operated by the Catholic Church. In 1974 she married and became a young widow in 1978. She had one son William Ahmo Jr. in 2021 and his life was tragically taken by guards while incarcerated. She has two other children, daughter Dara and son Josh. She was instrumental in assisting her parents in all areas of the management and planning for the Sagkeeng Oldtimers. There were many tasks assigned to Darlene that included many long hours of preparation for weekly Bingos. She and her son William worked alongside her parents in every way. A project idea by her mother Verna was to create a book “Sagkeeng Oldtimers - A Decade of International Competition”. This book was created through sponsorship by business organizations and funds from bingos. The book was completed by efforts of Darlene, her mother Verna and Morgan and Ted Fontaine. After Darlene’s mother Verna passed in 1989, Darlene continued to support her father Walter. She assisted with all tasks required as she continued to work full time to support her children. Darlene made a coordinated effort with the Sagkeeng Oldtimers to have her mother nominated and inducted into the Canadian Oldtimers Hockey Hall of Fame and was posthumously inducted in 1990. She became the first women and first Indigenous women to be inducted. In 2000, Darlene’s father passed away and she continued to promote and build the legacy of her parents and the team. She collected artifacts from the players and contacted Phil Pritchard, Keeper of the Stanley Cup, at the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) in Toronto. She coordinated to have the Sagkeeng Oldtimers artifacts preserved and to have their own personal storage area. Now in the HHOF Diversity Section the cow bell that Verna proudly traveled with to cheer on her team is showcased along with team jerseys that were worn by the Sagkeeng Oldtimers. Darlene continues to promote and build the legacy of the Sagkeeng Oldtimers.

Kelvin Sampson Category Coach Tribe Lumbee Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 10/5/1955 Kelvin Sampson (Lumbee, North Carolina) is a 33-year head coaching veteran at Houston, Indiana, Oklahoma, Washington State and Montana Tech. Sampson has compiled a 681-336 record during his career. He has led his teams to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 11 in 12 years with the Sooners from 1994 to 2006. During his Oklahoma tenure, he guided the Sooners to 10 consecutive 20-win seasons, the 1999 Sweet 16, the 2002 Final Four and an Elite Eight appearance in 2003. Sampson is one of only 15 coaches in NCAA history to lead 4+ schools to the NCAA Tournament. With the Cougars’ run to the 2021 NCAA Final Four, Sampson became one of only 16 coaches to lead multiple schools to the Final Four. In only seven seasons at Houston, Sampson is the only coach in school history to lead the Cougars to six consecutive 20-win seasons and became the second-winningest coach in program history during the 2020-21 season. He already ranks as the school’s career leader with a .723 winning percentage. In his career, he has been named a National Coach of the Year four times. Sampson has received six conference Coach of the Year awards from four different leagues and guided every program he has led to multiple 20-win seasons during his stints. As a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Sampson is the first and only Native American basketball coach to lead a program to the Final Four with the Oklahoma Sooners 2002 and Houston Cougars 2021. Home About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More