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< Back Dr. Darrell Menard Dr. Darrell Menard Métis Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Dr. Darrell Menard is Métis and served 40 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. He has an honours degree in Physical Education, a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology, a Doctor of Medicine and a Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine Diploma in Sport Medicine. Dr. Menard has been a competitive runner since 1969, and he is still competing at the age of 70. His sporting career highlights include: coaching and guide running at the 1980 Paralympic Games where he and Jacques Pilon won a Paralympic gold medal and set a world record for 1500 meters; setting the Alberta native open marathon record in 1980; captaining the University of Alberta team to win the 1980 Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union’s National Cross- Country Championship; competing at five Military World Cross Country Championships; representing Canada in the 20K race walk at the 2007 Military World Games; winning numerous provincial championships, and finishing fourth in the 1976 Canadian Athletics Championships running the 1500 meters in 3.49.6 – a time that remains the Canadian Forces record. In addition to his athletic achievements, Dr. Menard has provided sideline and clinic-based sport medicine care to athletes for 36 years. Over his career, he has employed his sport medicine skills and knowledge at 25 Major games including three North American Indigenous Games, five Military World Games, the 2001 World Athletics Championships, the 2010 U-17 Women’s World Cup, the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games, the 2015 Parapan American Games, the 1980 and 2016 Canadian Paralympic teams and the 2012 Canadian Olympic Team. Dr. Menard continues to work as the Surgeon General’s Specialist advisor in sport medicine and is an adjunct professor in University of Ottawa School of Nursing where he teaches musculoskeletal examination skills to nurse practitioners. He is the author of the “Ask the Expert” article series and has his own sport medicine practice in Russell Ontario. He has been named an officer in the Order of Military Merit and an officer in the Order of CISM. He has also been inducted into the Canadian Forces and the University of Alberta’s Sports Halls of Fame. Photo: Canadian Forces <Back

< Back Nakola Bad Bear Nakola Bad Bear Crow Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Nakola Bad Bear, Crow, was raised in Pryor, Montana and her parents are Curtis and Nadia Bad Bear. Nakola attended Montana State University-Bozeman (MSU-Bozeman) and was on the basketball team for four seasons. She graduated with a degree in Community Health. At MSU-Bozeman her team won two Big Sky tournament championships, three Big Sky conference titles, and appeared in the national tournament. She was named a two-time all conference and an all-tournament honoree. Nakola was the co-president for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) Student Association for two years and they held annual MMIP awareness basketball games. She grad-transferred to MSU-Billings to play her final year of eligibility and they won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship and made it to the NCAA DII Final Eight. She was named the Newcomer of the Year, Second Team All Big Sky Conference as a senior and Third Team as a junior, two-time All Big Sky Academic Team, GNAC Player of the Year, D2 CA All Region First Team, WBCA All American First Team and CSC Academic All American. Nakola plans to start graduate school in Occupational Therapy in the fall of 2025. She hopes to continue to inspire the next generation, continuing to lay a foundation for the future kids to grow and thrive on. She hopes to open a therapy clinic on her reservation to help eliminate generational trauma, and break the cycle of poverty. <Back

< Back Jim Neilson Jim Neilson Big River First Nation Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2022 Jim Neilson was one of the first Indigenous superstars in the sport of hockey, playing in the National Hockey League for 16 seasons. Born in Big River, Saskatchewan and raised at an orphanage in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Neilson honed his hockey skills through his youth. At 17 he played Junior A with the Prince Albert Mintos in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He made his professional debut at 19 for the Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers of the Eastern Professional Hockey League, named the league’s top rookie in 1962. That fall he joined the New York Rangers of the NHL for the next 12 seasons. He was named the Rangers top defenseman in 1966 and was runner-up to Bobby Orr for the Norris Trophy (top defenseman) in 1967-68. Neilson and the Rangers lost in the 1972 Stanley Cup Final to Boston in 6 games. In 1974 he was traded to the California Golden Seals, where he was named team captain and Team MVP in 1975-76. Neilson finished his NHL career with the Cleveland Barons for 2 seasons, where he again was the team captain. He was the team nominee for the Bill Masterton Award presented to the player who depicts perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication. His professional career concluded in 1978-79 when he played with the Edmonton Oilers in the World Hockey Association where he was a teammate of 17 year-old Wayne Gretzky. In 1,023 regular season NHL games, Neilson had 69 goals and 299 assists and was named to 4 NHL All Star Teams. Jim Neilson was inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. <Back

Iroquois Nationals 2003 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships Silver Medalists Team 2026 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back Iroquois Nationals are 2003 World Silver Medalists 2003 WILC roster Name Position Mike Benedict Forward Cory Bomberry Forward Tony Henderson Forward Veron Hill Forward Duane Jacobs Forward Kyle Jamieson Forward J.D. Jones Forward Rich Kilgour Forward Michael Longboat Forward Tom Montour Forward Delby Powless Forward Neal Powless Forward Percy Shenandoah Forward Kim Squire Forward Mike Stevens Forward Marshall Abrams Defense Cam Bomberry Defense Tim Bomberry Defense Mark Burnam Defense Ron Cogan Defense Ryan Davis Defense Bob Henry Defense Robert Henry Defense Clay Hill Defense Allen Jones Defense Ricky Oakes Defense Brian Stevens Defense Derek General Goaltender Ken Montour Goaltender Mike Thompson Goaltender Darris Kilgour Head Coach

< Back John Macdonald John Macdonald Mohawk Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 John Macdonald grew up in the Southern Ontario town of Simcoe, not far from extended family on Six Nations. Being gifted with a rare combination of size and speed, he quickly found his way onto the football field. He also played rugby, track & field, soccer, and ice hockey and was voted “Most Outstanding Male Student” in his senior year of high school. John was heavily recruited to play defensive line at many Canadian universities, but decided to attend McGill University. After five years, he left McGill as an all-star, an All-Canadian, and held the school record for tackles for loss in a career. He was selected in the first round, seventh overall by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2002 Canadian Football League (CFL) draft. He played three years for Hamilton and was a starter in 2003. He was very active in the community and continued his education during his CFL career with the goal of becoming a teacher. After retiring from pro football in 2004, John began teaching English, Native Studies, and Physical Education. He’s been the head football coach of the Pauline Johnson Thunderbirds in Brantford, Ontario since 2019, winning a league championship in 2022. John has also been a guest coach at McGill University and the University of Guelph. He coached hockey, rugby, and field lacrosse in and around Brantford and Six Nations, winning provincial championships with two Six Nations Girls’ Field Lacrosse teams in 2013 and 2015. John helped build the S.O.A.R. Elite Athletic program at Pauline Johnson that prepared athletes to compete in NCAA and Canadian university sport. John has won many awards for his contributions to education, sport, and Indigenous advocacy including a Norfolk Sports Hall of Recognition Induction in 2017, a Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation Education Award in 2018, and the CFL Alumni Association Indigenous Champion Award in 2023. John has supported Indigenous initiatives for McGill University, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Alumni Association, the CFL Alumni Association, and the CFL. <Back

< Back Ernie Stevens Jr. Ernie Stevens Jr. Oneida Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete/Builder 2022 Ernie Stevens, Jr. is Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) out of Washington, DC. Serving in his 11th consecutive two-year terms. Stevens serves as Chairman and National spokesman for the Indian Gaming industry working with Tribal Leadership in shaping policy initiatives that have the potential to impact the industry. Stevens served as elected Councilman for the Oneida Nation from 1993 to 1996. His career in Washington, DC began in 1995 as the First Vice-President of the National Congress of American Indians. He serves as a board member of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, Nike N7 Foundation, Center for American Indian Youth, and American Indian Graduate Center. In 2008, Stevens was inducted into the National Indian Athletic Association Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Alumni Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was inducted as Lifetime Member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s Alumni Association. In 2015, Stevens was inducted into the American Gaming Association Gaming Hall of Fame, and has received several national accolades. Ernie’s boxing career started in his teens. At 16, along with boxing icon Louie Askinette, he co-founded the Soaring Eagle Boxing Club in Oneida in 1975. His accolades include 4-time State Heavyweight Champion in 1976, 1977, 1978 & 1979. He is also a two-time National Heavyweight Champion out of Carson City, NV in 1977 & 1978. In 1977, he was 17 years old fighting seasoned men to win the Championship. Stevens received an Associate Degree from Haskell Indian Junior College, 1983, a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Mount Senario College,1996 and a Masters in Management from the University of Phoenix, 2021. Stevens is married to his wife and best friend of 43 years, Cheryl. Together they have 5 kids and 17 grandchildren. <Back

< Back Carey Terrance Jr. Carey Terrance Jr. Mohawk Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Hearing his name called early on Day 2 of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the 6-foot-1, 186-pound forward Carey Terrance’s excitement to join the Anaheim Ducks was the first major step of a lifelong dream of playing at hockey’s highest level. Terrance’s second season as a member of the Ducks organization gives him valuable experience with players and coaches at the top level. Moreover, the selection represented his entire home community of Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne – with the territory holding a widely-attended watch party for Terrance’s anticipated pick. With great pride in his heritage, Terrance hopes to be the second Mohawk actively playing in the NHL in the near future. Traded to the Rangers on June 12, 2025, from Anaheim, and eventually one of 11 players assigned in September to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Hartford Wolf Pack. The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the AHL since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers. Carey Terrance spent the 2024-25 season skating for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey league (OHL) while serving as the team’s captain, notching 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points. Among OHL leaders, he tied for third in shorthanded goals (5), led the Otters in both goals and shorthanded tallies, and ranked fourth on the team in points. In 2022–23, he tallied 30 goals and 17 assists for 47 points in 67 games, leading all Erie skaters in goals and tying for the team lead in points. Terrance totaled 89 goals and 73 assists for 162 points, along with 81 penalty minutes, in 230 career OHL games with Erie. Representing Team USA, he helped them win back-to-back gold medals at the 2024 and 2025 World Junior Championships and helped them earn gold at the 2023 U-18 World Championship. NY Rangers bio: https://www.nhl.com/rangers/player/carey-terrance-8484236 Photos: Hartford Wolf Pack <Back

< Back Kiki Smith Kiki Smith Comanche Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Kiki Smith fell in love with basketball at a young age. Born Dec. 17, 2004, in Topeka, Kan., to Darold Smith and Harmony Burgess-Smith, Kiki had a ball in her hands as a soon as she could walk. A proud member of the Comanche Nation, Kiki played for Legendary Elite on the Native Basketball Circuit during her travel prep career. She remains an active part of the organization, speaking with youth players about playing at the collegiate level. Kiki is a Yellowfish descendant. Her heritage also includes the Kiowa, Cheyenne, Absentee Shawnee and Caddo tribes as well. Kiki played her high school ball at Topeka High School, where she was a four-time 6A All-State selection, garnering three first team nods, while also being named to the All-Centennial League Team all four years. Averaging over 20 points per game, while making nearly 50 3-pointers, in both her junior and senior campaigns, Kiki was tabbed the Centennial League Player of the Year. Kiki was not recruited heavily out of high school and spent her freshman season at Hutchinson Community College, where she rewrote the record books. Kiki guided the Blue Dragons to a perfect 37-0 record and the NJCAA DI National Championship. Averaging 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.7 steals per game, while shooting 55.9% from the field and 44.4% from distance on 82 made 3-pointers, Kiki was named the NJCAA DI Player of the Year and a First Team All-American, as well as the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Player of the Year. Kiki then transferred to Arkansas for her sophomore season, where she averaged 10.2 point per night. She ranked second in the SEC and 28th nationally with a 40.6% shooting clip from behind the arc. Following her lone season in Fayetteville, Kiki continued her athletic and academic career at Purdue. In her first season with the Boilermakers, she leads the team in scoring and ranks as one of the best 3-point shooters and passers in the Big Ten. <Back

Cherokee Jerod Phillips Cherokee Induction Category: Year Inducted Officials 2026 <Back Jerod Phillips is a lifelong resident of Northeastern Oklahoma and a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He and his wife of 28 years, Alisha, have raised three adult sons Trent, Ty and Brady and are proud grandparents of five grandchildren. Jerod’s passion for sports sparked his officiating career in 1993, when he began working rural little league football games alongside his father. What started as a family pastime quickly evolved into a lifelong pursuit of excellence. Over the next three decades, Jerod advanced through the ranks—from junior college games to small college Division II schools, the Southland Conference, the Mountain West Conference, and the Big 12 Conference. In 2016, Jerod achieved a lifelong dream when he joined the National Football League (NFL) as a Down Judge. Throughout his NFL career, he has officiated two Wild Card Playoff Games, two Divisional Playoff Games, and four Championship Games: the 2019 AFC, 2021 NFC, 2023 AFC, and 2024 NFC Championships. He was also selected as an Alternate Official for Super Bowl LV (55) in Tampa Bay and Super Bowl LVII (57) in Phoenix, Arizona. Beyond the field, Jerod contributes his expertise by helping supervise officials for the Big 12, Mountain West, and Conference USA. Jerod serves as an inspiring example of perseverance and dedication—proof that even a small-town Native kid from rural Oklahoma can achieve greatness at the highest levels. As a school principal, he is deeply committed to the success of his students, encouraging them to dream big and work hard to achieve their goals. His passion for athletics goes beyond the game; he believes sports help shape character, teaching essential life lessons about perseverance, discipline, and accountability. Despite the opportunities his career could afford him across the nation, Jerod chooses to live and give back to the Native community where he grew up. His presence and leadership inspire countless students who see in him a reflection of what is possible with hard work and integrity.

Perry William Kelly <Back Metis Induction Category: Media/Athlete Year Inducted 2024 Over the past thirty-five-year period, Perry William Kelly has written literally hundreds of thousands of words on the subject of martial arts and combat sports. Kelly has been a feature writer for: Martial Arts Professional; Martial Arts Experts; Ultimate Grappling; and, Ultimate MMA, and is currently the Canadian and MMA Correspondent for MA Success magazine. During his lengthy career covering stories around the globe, he has interviewed multiple Olympic coaches and Gold Medalists, countless UFC champions and their trainers, World Kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu Champions. He is one of the few MMA writers to have interviewed many of the CEOs of the world’s top MMA promotions, i.e. UFC, Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, Professional Fighters League and Combate Global. In addition, he has interviewed martial arts action film stars including the late David Carradine (Kill Bill) and Alain Moussi (Kickboxer). In 2017, Kelly won the World Police and Fire Fighter Games Karate Gold Medal - Over 50 Middleweight Division. The following year, he was dubbed “The Fighting Writer” by the Editor of Black Belt Magazine, the world’s oldest martial arts publication, when he won a Silver Medal at the famed Battle of Atlanta while taking on double duty by also reporting on the event. For over ten years, Kelly provided his master level knowledge of five martial arts while writing on law enforcement officer safety in articles featured in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gazette. This work was featured in a book entitled The Thinking Officer's Guide to Police Defensive Tactics published with a forward by the former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, the Honourable Herb Gray and an introduction by former RCMP Commissioner and Interpol President Norman D. Inkster. Kelly’s other combative sports books include a biography of Bruce Lee’s protégé entitled Dan Inosanto: The Man, the Teacher, the Artist with a forward by the first martial artist elected to the NFL Hall of Fame Randy White and the biography ICEMAN: Kickboxing Legend Jean-Yves Theriault. Kelly is currently the Tribal Representative for the Metis Nation of Ontario for the Native American League of the U.S. Muay Thai Association.

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.

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert <Back Hopi Induction Category: Media Year Inducted 2024 Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert is Professor of History and American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. He is an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe from the village of Upper Munqapi. Centering his research and teaching on Native American history and the history of the American West, he examines the history of American Indian education, the Indian boarding school experience, and American Indians and sport. Over the years, Gilbert has published extensively on Hopi long-distance running, including an article titled “Hopi Footraces and American Marathons, 1912-1930” (American Quarterly, March 2010) and “Marathoner Louis Tewanima and the Continuity of Hopi Running, 1908-1912” (Western Historical Quarterly, Autumn 2012). He is, however, best known for his book, “Hopi Runners: Crossing the Terrain between Indian and American” (University Press of Kansas, 2018), which won the 2019 David J. Weber-Clements Prize of the Clements Center for Southwest Studies. In it, he examines the ways Hopi marathon runners navigated between tribal dynamics, school loyalties, and a country that closely associated sport with U.S. nationalism. He calls attention to Hopi philosophies of running that connected the runners to their village communities and to the internal and external forces that supported and strained these cultural ties when Hopi people competed in U.S. marathons. He argues that between 1908 and 1936, the cultural identity of Hopi runners challenged white American perceptions of modernity and placed them in a context that had national and international dimensions. This broad perspective linked Hopi runners to athletes from around the world, including runners from Japan and Ireland, and caused non-Natives to reevaluate their understanding of sport, nationhood, and the cultures of indigenous people. His work and expertise on Hopi running have been featured in an ESPN documentary film, “Run Hopi” by Scott Harves, and various media outlets, including the KUYI Radio Station (88.1 FM) on the Hopi Reservation. A sought-after speaker on Hopi and indigenous running, he has given lectures for academic audiences, tribal organizations, primary and secondary schools, and Native American cultural centers and museums, including the Heard Museum, Amerind Museum, and Tohono O’odham Cultural Center and Museum.