Search Results

< Back Greg Edgelow Greg Edgelow Cree Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Greg Edgelow is a retired Olympic freestyle wrestler born in Edmonton, Alberta and living in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Edgelow is a nationally certified Aboriginal Wrestling Coach with Cree Ancestral Heritage from Manitoba Canada and European mix. In 2018, Edgelow was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, Indigenous Gallery. Edgelow won at every level of wrestling. He was a juvenile, junior and six-time Canadian senior wrestling champion (7 Freestyle and 1 Greco) and 5 times top-10 placing at the world championships (fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth). He represented Canada at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain placing 11th and won a bronze medal at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, two bronze medals at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, a silver medal at the 1992 Pan American Championships, Toronto and a gold medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. Edgelow is the only Canadian to win a medal in wrestling (bronze) at the Goodwill Games. He is also the only Canadian wrestler to win four separate consecutive senior freestyle weight classes (82 kg, 90 kg, 96 kg, 100 kg). His last senior national title was in 1998, where he represented Canada (100 Kg) at the World Championships in Tehran, Iran. He is a two-time NAIA All-American for Simon Fraser University, while placing #1 in Minot, ND at 177 lbs. in 1986. Edgelow was awarded the 1999 Canadian Sport Leadership Award for his outstanding athletic achievements and leadership in volunteerism, beating out fellow finalist, Hockey great Wayne Gretzky. Edgelow was the motivational speaker at the Parade of Nations for the 1997 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) Victoria and member of Aboriginal Team BC Mission Staff at NAIG 2006 Denver and Assistant Chef de Mission, Team BC at NAIG 2008 Cowichan. He worked with the BC Boys U-16 Soccer team at the 2017 NAIG Toronto where they earned gold. Edgelow created an endowed wrestling scholarship fund at his Alma Mata, Simon Fraser University in 1996 that has financially assisted over 35 university wrestlers since its creation. Edgelow works in Indigenous relations at the corporate level providing economic development, jobs and training for Indigenous people and businesses. <Back

< Back Drew Bucktooth Drew Bucktooth Onondaga Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2022 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 tile 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. <Back

< Back Daniel Polk Daniel Polk Apache/Kwatsan/Diné Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Daniel Polk was born in Ft. Defiance, AZ but grew up in Pinon, AZ and Winterhaven, CA. He is from San Carlos Apache, Kwatsan (Quechan), and Diné nations. His Lakota name is Screaming Eagle and Diné name is Man Comes Home. His parents are Damon Polk and Helena Bekay Polk. He has two sisters and two brothers. Polk now lives in Shakopee, MN with his wife Dyani White Hawk Polk and their daughters Nina and Tusweca Polk. Polk’s first love was basketball. He played four years of varsity basketball at San Pasqual Valley High School. Daniel would walk onto Arizona Western College team to play one year, then transfer to Haskell Indian Nations University to finish out his basketball career. While at Haskell, he would receive his Associates of Arts and Bachelors of Science Degree in Elementary Education. Polk now has a new love and passion for disc golf. His friend Henry Pohocsucut would teach him the sport of disc golf in 2005. When he first saw Henry throw a disc, it flew an entire football field length and Polk has been hooked ever since. He wanted to learn everything about disc golf. The techniques, different styles of throw, forms of competition and rules and regulations. A lifelong athlete, disc golf was now everything to Polk. He would play every chance he got towards the goal to someday become a competitive professional disc golfer. His very first tournament, The Centennial Open, he won the Intermediate division (MA2). This motivated him to keep learning and working on his skills. In 2006, he became an Advance player (MA1), in 2007 he became a Men’s Professional Open player (MPO), and in 2019 he became a Men’s Master Pro 40+ player (MP40). Polk has played in over 300 tournaments and has over 75 wins. He is sponsored by Prodigy Disc, Airborn Disc Golf, and Team Blue Ribbon Pines. Polk is seen as a great and respectful competitor and role model. He works hard to earn everything he has achieved and hopes to continue to be a strong competitor positively representing his sponsors and family. <Back

< Back Tara Hedican Tara Hedican Eabametoon First Nation Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete/Coach 2025 Tara Hedican is one of the world's most accomplished athletes. She has over ten years of international success as an athlete including competing at the world stage and most notably winning Canada’s first Junior World title. She was a dual sport athlete while attending the University of Guelph with all-star accomplishments in both rugby and wrestling and being named a two-time University of Guelph Athlete of the Year. Hedican represented the Ontario region at the national Border Ladner Jervais awards ceremony where she was presented a ring for her accomplishments being one of Canada's best university athletes. In addition to this award she was presented a ring bearing the image of Hiawatha in honour of Tom Longboat as Canada's most decorated Indigenous athlete. Along with her international success she has trained in several countries around the world adding to her training methodology and understanding about international competition. Hedican is a D1 level trained coach and Hockey Academy accredited trainer. She is also a student of the Advanced Coaching Diploma considered to be the top level of Canadian coaching. Hedican has coached and trained internationally recognized athletes under the wing of Canada’s top-level coaches. <Back

< Back Richard Peter Richard Peter Cowichan Tribes Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 He was known as “Bear” to many people, not only a nod to his strength and the size of his hands, but also the size of his heart. Poll the world’s top wheelchair basketball coaches and players regarding about who they’d choose to build their ultimate dream team around and in the top five would be Duncan, British Columbia’s Richard Peter. A proud member of the Cowichan Tribes, community was a huge part of Peter’s upbringing. Strength of family and his own determination helped him overcome a terrible injury at age four when a school bus backed up over his chest breaking his hip and spinal cord just below the ribcage. Adjusting to life in a small community with few wheelchair-accessible buildings wasn’t easy, but Peter’s strength of character more than met the challenges. He graduated from public school and tried virtually every sport available. In 1994, Peter debuted on the Canadian national team and was a pillar of strength for Canada from 1996 through to 2012. Beginning in 1996, Peter represented Canada at five Paralympic Games helping capture three golds (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, London 2012) and a silver (Beijing 2008). In world championship play, Peter has been part of one gold medal-winning squad (2006) and three that earned bronze. Six times he led Team BC to the national championship. Individually, Peter is regarded as one of the fiercest defenders in the world, an effortless scorer, and one of the game’s most sportsmanlike players. In the latter years of his career, Peter was still a regular member of the national team and played professionally in Germany with club RSV Lahn-Dill where he lived part of the year with wife Marni Abbott-Peter, herself a BC Sports Hall of Famer. At the same time, Peter was already racking up an impressive array of accolades. Twice named winner of the Tom Longboat Award as Canada’s Male Aboriginal Athlete of the Year, he was also a two-time Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association Male Athlete of the Year, and the 2008 Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year. Bio credit: Jason Beck, Curator of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. <Back

Orin Lou Askenette <Back Menominee Induction Category: Year Inducted Coach 2025 Orin “Lou” Askenette, was a retired Oneida Nation security officer and former boxer, trainer, referee and coach. Lou was a legendary boxing coach whose dedication and ability shaped the careers of countless champions. With over 50 years in the sport, he has made an indelible mark on boxing. Lou’s work in molding and shaping fighters has helped them prepare for life responsibilities while building careers promoting positive life skills. Lou has played a strong role in many lives, mentoring men and women warriors of Indian Country. Lou began his boxing career fighting on his father’s boxing team, the Menominee Indian boxing club. In 1959 in Fond du Lac, WI, Lou won the 135 lbs. Championship; in 1961 he won the open division tournament at Fond du Lac at 126 lbs. At the age of 18 he joined the military and from 1963 to 1967 he fought on the United States Air Force boxing team. After his military career he joined the Wisconsin Boxing Referee Association, where he was a well-known boxing official. In 1973 he started his coaching career at the Oneida Boxing Club on the Oneida Indian Reservation in Wisconsin and was recruited by Chairman Purcell Powless. In 1977 he co- founded and coached the Soaring Eagles Boxing Club in Green Bay, WI, and he continued recruiting and training amateur and professional boxing careers. Lou has coached and trained several fighters including Carlos Molina, Harry “The Hammer Funmaker, Ernie “Big Cat” Stevens Jr., Roger Ponfil, Chuck Ponfil, Joey Christjohn, Kelly Stevens, Paul “Bad Horse” Stevens, Matt Denny, DJ Denny, Tim Tomashek, Todd Moon Hill, Rory Hill, Mel Smith, Earl Smith, Paul Danforth, Buggs Danforth, John Maino, and others.

< Back Alexandria Town Alexandria Town Mi’kmaw Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Born and raised in Scarborough, ON, Alexandria Town is a competitive wrestler who has been competing on the Canadian National Team since 2018. Town is of mixed race with Black, Indigenous, and European ancestry. She is Mi’kmaw of the Bear Clan and is an engaged member of her local Urban Indigenous community. Town began wrestling in high school at the age of 15. She continued wrestling at York University where her achievements sky-rocketed as she trail-blazed a path for her school’s program, becoming the most decorated female wrestler in York University’s history. Upon graduation in 2018 she was named to the Canadian National team and began competing on the international stage. That same year Town competed at the U23 World Championships in Bucharest, Romania, where she won the U23 world title, putting her name down in Canadian record books as the first ever Canadian wrestler to do so. Town has garnered an impressive collection of international medals including five Pan American Championship medals, gold at the 2023 Egypt Ranking Series, and bronze at the 2019 Poland Open. Town still wrestles for Team Canada today with hopes of qualifying for the Olympic Games. <Back

August Wesley <Back Narragansett Induction Category: Year Inducted Coach/Athlete 2025 August Wesley is an international wrestler and head coach. He is a Narragansett Indian and given the name Hiawatha in representing the tribe located in Charlestown, Rhode Island. August is an accomplished wrestler that represented Team USA six times including the UWW Veteran World Championships. He is a gold medalist competing for Sunkist and also won six USA Greco-Roman National Team Championships. Wesley is a highly decorated coach with over 30 years coaching experience. He was selected 14 times to lead USA teams at international competition in 27 countries on five continents. He has led USA teams to five team titles, twice in Australia, and in Germany, Austria and Hungary. Nationally he offers technical wrestling clinics and motivational speaking. Wesley was selected to coach at the US Olympic Training Center. He has a Bronze Certification with USA Wrestling, accredited interscholastic certification, and is a former member of the California Coaches Association. These credentials and achievements culminated in his selection as a state representative for USA GRIT (Greco-Roman Initiative Team) for his years of dedication and development of the sport. Wesley was nominated as the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Coach of the Year. He received West Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors, and named a two-time college coach of the year at Sacramento State University after winning two California State Championships. While at Iowa State University as Head Club Coach they achieved five All Americans, qualified 24 wrestlers to the national's, and also winning the Great Plains Conference team title. He earned international success as the outstanding freestyle coach, leading Team USA to a championship trophy in Austria and Australia. Wesley accumulated over 145 high school wins and has guided many wrestlers to receiving NCAA Division 1 scholarships through his club California Elite. He served as assistant coach at the Senior Nationals and Sierra College capturing the California State Championship. He was the head coach for CPV at the 2022 and 2023 UWW World Championships in Europe. Wesley also coached the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Continental Championships in Africa and 2024 Paris Olympic Qualifiers. He serves as the Cabo Verde Secretary General and President of referees commission for Africa. Wesley was nominated to the Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame for his achievements.

Joy SpearChief-Morris Category Athlete Tribe Blackfoot (Blood Kainai) Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 3/17/1994 Joy is an Indigenous Black Canadian writer, advocate, and athlete. She is a proud member of the Kainai Blood Tribe and grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta. Joy is a retired 100m hurdler in athletics, three-time Canadian National Championship finalist and two-time Team Canada member. As a member of Team Canada, she is a 2014 North American Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) U23 silver medalist and a fifth place finisher at the 2019 FISU World Universidad. She has sat on the AthletesCAN Board of Directors and Athletics Canada’s Athletes Council, and now sits on the AthletesCAN Diversity and Equity Advisory Committee. Joy has achieved several notable accolades. Most notably, she was the 2016 and 2017 OUA Female Track MVP, 2017 USports Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner, 2017 Tom Longboat Award winner and the featured cover athlete for the 2019 May/June issue of Canadian Running Magazine. Joy has a Bachelor’s degree in History and First Nations Studies and a Master’s degree in Political Science specializing in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction from Western University. Joy is now pursuing a career as a journalist, having bylines in The Globe and Mail and CBC Sports. She is currently in the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University. Home 2025 Banquet 2025 Banquet Sponsorship About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

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

< Back Shayna Powless Shayna Powless Oneida Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2022 Shayna Powless is a member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, a USA Cycling-certified coach and a professional cyclist for DNA Pro Cycling. She grew up in Roseville, California and currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2016 and was a member of the UCLA cycling team for four years. She co-founded the Dreamcatcher Foundation with her fiance, Eli Ankou, who is a professional football player and member of the Dokis First Nation in Canada. The foundation aims to empower Native youth through sports by providing equipment and camps. The foundation also aims to raise awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) crisis in North America, as well as raise funds for organizations actively fighting this crisis. Shayna has domestic and international professional race experience in road, track, gravel, mountain biking and virtual (Zwift) racing. She also has experience racing at events such as the World Championships, National Championships, Pan Am Games, World Cups, Swiss Cups, criteriums, one-day races, and stage races. <Back

< Back Joseph Giovannetti Joseph Giovannetti Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Joseph Giovannetti, a proud Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation member and accomplished middle-distance runner, was born in Eureka, California. His athletic prowess first shone at Eureka High School; in 1967, he claimed victory as the Humboldt-Del Norte counties varsity mile champion, marking the beginning of his stellar career. In 1968, he clinched the North Coast Section Division III 880 title and set the EHS 880 school record with a time of 1:55.7. At Humboldt State College (now California State Polytechnic University), Giovannetti’s running talent flourished under the guidance of renowned coach Jim Hunt, displaying remarkable consistency and excellence in middle-distance running. He qualified for the NCAA College Division national championships all four years of his college career. One of his most notable achievements came in 1971 when he finished eighth in the NCAA College Division 880 national championship finals. This would be recognized as a First Team All-American honor by today's standards. Giovannetti's list of accomplishments is extensive. He set multiple records, including the Humboldt State 660 record, co-holding the HSU 880 record at 1:51.8 (equivalent to 1:51.1 in 800 meters), and contributing to HSU's 4X880 yards relay team in 1971. His excellence extended to other events as well, playing a key role in HSU's Sprint Medley Relay record in 1970 and the No. 2 all-time 4X440 relay team in 1971 against Sacramento State University. Off the track, Giovannetti has made significant contributions to his Indigenous community and academia. He was a Professor Emeritus of Native American Studies at Humboldt State University, making invaluable contributions from 1994 to 2018. He earned his Ph.D. from Sierra University and has been an active member of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation Tribal Council since 2007. Joseph Giovannetti's legacy is one of resilience, achievement, and advocacy. His journey as an athlete and scholar has left an indelible mark on the Indigenous community. As a citizen of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, Giovannetti serves as an inspiration to future generations, showcasing that determination and dedication can lead to greatness both on and off the track. <Back