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Wilton Littlechild Category Builder Tribe Cree Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 4/1/1944 An Indigenous lawyer of Cree ancestry, bestowed as Honourary Cree Chief and International Chief, Wilton Littlechild was elected a Member of Parliament in Canada and Vice-President of the Indigenous Parliament of the Americas. Known for his advocacy, nationally and internationally on Human Rights and Traditional Games and Sports. Born in Maskwacis (Treaty No. 6), raised by his grandparents but taken at the age of six where he spent fourteen years in the Indian Residential School system. He witnessed and experienced various forms of abuse but was also introduced to sports, which he used to motivate his pursuit of excellence and run from abuse. He eventually excelled academically and in athletics; credits his traditional upbringing to seek balance in life; underpinned by spirituality and family support. Achievements: • Ten Athlete of the Year Awards • Holds three University and five Honorary Doctorate degrees (Physical Education, Law) • Eight Sports Halls of Fame • University of Alberta Most Outstanding Indian Athlete in Canada (twice) • Major Sports: Hockey, Baseball, Swimming • Centennial medal - Top 100 in Hockey • Order of Sport as inductee to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame • Over seventy-five Championships • Twice honoured in Switzerland and Olympic Games Ambassador Home 2026 Banquet 2026 Banquet Sponsorship About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

< Back Marcus Oliveira Marcus Oliveira Menominee Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete/Builder 2025 Marcus Derwin Oliveira, “The Phenom Menom,” was born on March 18, 1979, and raised on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Keshena, Wisconsin. He began boxing at the age of seven years old and went on to have a very impressive and decorated amateur record of 375+ fights and only lost 30 times. With his impressive skills, aggressiveness and unmatched strength inside the ring, he earned himself a spot training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. Marcus went on to make it to the Olympic Trials, losing by only one point to make the USA Olympic team. In April of 2006 Oliveira made his much-anticipated professional debut with a knockout win against Daniel Russell. Marcus went on to win his next six fights by knockouts, five of them being in the first round. Due to Marcus’ extraordinary boxing skills he was approached in 2010 by legendary boxing promoter Don King and was immediately signed to Don King Promotions. He went on to fight some of the top fighters in his light heavyweight division to become ranked #1 in the world for two years. Marcus held several titles and belts, including ABF, WBA fedebol, and NABA. In his professional career he had an impressive record of 38 fights, with 28 wins and 22 by way of knockout, nine losses and one draw. Marcus retired from boxing in 2023 and currently resides in Lawrence, Kansas and focuses his time raising his son and daughter, and working for the environmental protection agency on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Indian reservation in Mayetta, KS. He is married to Shiloh LeBeau-Oliveira, 2023 NAIAHF inductee. In his spare time he and his wife travel for speaking engagements and hosting boxing workshops on different Native American reservations to inspire, motivate and encourage the youth to live a positive healthy lifestyle while helping them to build confidence, discipline, and skills through the sport of boxing. <Back

Sam McCracken Category Builder Tribe Sioux and Assiniboine, Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 7/19/1960 Sam McCracken, is a member of the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes in northeastern Montana on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation and the General Manager of Nike N7. He also serves as the Vice Chair of the board for the Center for Native American Youth. McCracken started with Nike in 1997. He became the Manager of Nike’s Native American Business in 2000 and led the development of the Nike Air Native N7 shoe, the retail collection and the fund which provides access to sport for Native American and Indigenous youth in North America. Since 2009, the fund has awarded more than $8 million in grants to Tribal communities, reaching more than 500,000 youth. McCracken received Nike’s Bowerman Award in 2004, named after Nike co-founder and track and field coach Bill Bowerman. He was honored by the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge with the George Washington Honor Medal in 2004. In 2007, he was coined a "corporate change maker" and named among the 20 most innovative global “Intrapreneurs” by sustainability.com. He worked with Nike to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Indian Health Service in 2003 and 2009, and with the Bureau of Indian Education in 2010 bringing access to sport for Native American communities. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Advisory Council on Indian Education in 2010 and received the President’s "Leadership Award" from the National Indian Gaming Association in 2010. More recently, McCracken and N7 received the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s 2019 Corporate Business of the Year award and in 2020, McCracken was inducted into the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2022, McCracken was honored by the World Economic Forum as the Schwab Foundation’s Social Intrapreneur of the Year. Home 2026 Banquet 2026 Banquet Sponsorship About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

Nicole Johnson Category Athlete Tribe Inupiaq Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 5/20/1969 Nicole Johnson’s passion for Inuit games started in fifth grade when she learned how to do the Two-Foot High Kick after church in a youth program. Inuit games are games that were played to build the survival skills Indigenous people of the North played to develop the skills need for everyday survival and just for fun. In seventh grade, Nicole entered her first competition at the 1982 Native Youth Olympics (NYO), taking first place in the Two-Foot High Kick. She continued to compete through high school, at NYO, the World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO), and the Arctic Winter Games (AWG). After high school she continued to compete until 2004, over the years winning over 100 medals, earning the outstanding athlete award, and sportsmanship award, at various competitions. She has set records in several events over the years, setting her first record in the Two-Foot High Kick at the 1985 NYO and continued to break her record until the 1989 WEIO, kicking 6’6”. This record held for 25 years. Her record in the Two-Foot High Kick at AWG, still holds at 6’5”. In 2017, Nicole was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, as an athlete and ambassador to Native Games. Nicole is the former chairwoman of WEIO, and current President of AWG Team Alaska. Nicole currently works with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, coaching youth, training officials, assists with organizing the statewide Native Youth Olympics competitions, and acting as the head official for many different competitions. Her passion for the Inuit games continues by sharing and preserving the rich history and culture of these sports through coaching, instruction at schools, throughout Alaska, the lower 48, and the Yukon territories. Photo: Cook Inlet Tribal Council Home 2026 Banquet 2026 Banquet Sponsorship About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

Algonquin/Iroquois Officials Jerod Phillips Cherokee Gary Hull Inupiaq Danny McCourt Algonquin/Iroquois Brian Chrupalo Pine Creek Frist Nation 282 Michael Thomas St. Croix Ojibwe

< Back Miguel Lara Miguel Lara Tarahumara Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Miguel Lara’s record as an ultramarathon runner is very impressive and has resulted in him winning recognition across the globe. He has finished first in more than 20 ultramarathons, including three times each at Ultramarathon Caballo Blanco Copper Canyon, Ultramaratón de las Canones and the Born to Run Series. He participated in the Boston Marathon in 2017, won the Ultra X Mexico in 2019. He won four races in 2016 including the Red Rock and Beyond 50 miles in 6:43.23, Wild Wild West Ultra 50k in 4:32.22, the Born to Run Ultra 60k in 8:13.06, and the Kodiak Ultra 100 miles in 19:58.00. Photo/Bio Credit: Ultra X <Back

Jason Peters Category Coach Tribe Mi’kmaw Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 12/25/1972 Jason Peters, a Mi’kmaw, is a member of Glooscap First Nation located within the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. He has been a coach and an Indigenous and mainstream sport leader for 33 years. Peters is also a recognized sport administrator, Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC), and a National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Coach Developer, Basketball Coaches of Canada Advisory Board member and Head Coach of Team Yukon’s U18 Women’s program that will be attending the 2022 Canada Games. Peters’ is believed to soon be Canada’s first Indigenous basketball Head Coach at the Canada Games taking place in Niagara in 2022. He is a two-time provincial champion at Bayside Middle School and former Head Coach of the Simonds High School Seabees women’s program in Saint John, New Brunswick. He served as the Chef de Mission of Aboriginal Team New Brunswick during the 2014 (Regina) and 2017 (Toronto) North American Indigenous Games. In 2013. he was inductee of the New Brunswick Aboriginal Sports Hall of Fame and in 2011 his book Aboriginal Sport Heroes: Atlantic Canada was published. In 2009 Peters served as an Assistant Coach of the New Brunswick women’s Canada Games basketball team (PEI), Canada Basketball’s Nike Centre for Performance and received the New Brunswick Aboriginal Coaching Award. In 2012 he received Basketball New Brunswick’s Special Merit Award for his ongoing service to the basketball community. Peters’ coaching career started in 1989 when he volunteered to coach a Junior Mini team in the newly established East Saint John Minor Basketball Association (ESJMBA). He eventually became a rep team coach, a member of the board of directors and President. Jason also served as a board member of the Coaching Association of Canada, Coach New Brunswick, the Aboriginal Sport Circle, and the North American Indigenous Games Council. Photo Credits: 2010 Vancouver Olympic Committee and Jason Peters Home 2026 Banquet 2026 Banquet Sponsorship About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

Claudia Jimerson Cayuga Nation, Bear Clan Induction Category: Year Inducted Builder 2024 <Back Claudia Jimerson is an influential steward of the game who has contributed to the growth and development of Women’s lacrosse. A former lacrosse player and coach herself, Jimerson has spent many years dedicating her life and heart back to the sport that has brought her so many joyous experiences. Jimerson is currently a Senior Human Resource Executive at Seneca Gaming Corporation with 20 years of successful experience in the hospitality industry. She brings a wealth of knowledge in organization development, talent acquisition and training that she incorporates into the women’s program to promote a positive environment for continuous learning, inclusion and personal growth. She was a High School US All American and SUNY Fredonia Women’s Lacrosse All American Honorable Mention. Jimerson participated in the 2013 Women’s World Championships where she was a team captain for the Haudenosaunee Nationals. She exemplified leadership, inspiration, and heart that helped lead the way for team Haudenosaunee to their highest finish yet. Since then, Jimerson has transitioned to an important role as the Director of Women’s Lacrosse Operations and Board Member of the Haudenosaunee Nationals. She has contributed a great deal of time and energy back to the game and her people. In the last three years, she has worked with others to lead the Haudenosaunee Nationals Women’s team to compete in three international competitions where they have placed first, eighth and seventh respectively. Jimerson has demonstrated passion for the game throughout the years and more importantly, she has shown all Haudenosaunee women what it means to be empowered. Jimerson is someone who is confident and leads with her heart. She is filled with passion and love; and sets an example of what the game can cultivate in women if you allow yourself to learn and honor it in all the right ways. She has used the game as a tool to inspire those around her to believe in themselves and be confident in who they are. Jimerson finds joy and importance in educating others on the history and importance of lacrosse - she uses her role to not only spread the culture of the Haudenosaunee people and where the spirit game comes from; but also to spread awareness on Indigenous issues.

Eugene Oree Foster <Back Navajo Induction Category: Media Year Inducted 2024 Eugene Oree Foster was a long-time resident of Fort Defiance, Arizona where he was born and raised. His late father, Harold Y. Foster, was a Navajo Code Talker and his mother is Margaret Foster. As a sports writer, Foster covered all sports at all levels including professional, college, high school, junior high school, elementary school, and community sports and leagues. He was also a heralded athlete at Window Rock High School (1968-71) in basketball, baseball, cross-country and track and field. He earned a college athletic scholarship to run cross-country and compete in track and field at Central Arizona College. Foster played semi-professional baseball with the Fort Defiance Indians. He was also a varsity school baseball coach and an assistant cross-country coach at Window Rock High and coached a little league baseball team, the Fort Defiance Indians. He received his AA Degree from Central Arizona College, BS Degree in Journalism from the Arizona State University, and MA Degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. Foster was a recipient of many awards including the Native American Journalist Sportswriter for 15 consecutive years, the prestigious Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Skip Bryant Media Award in 2010 and 2016, and the award for excellence, the Wall of Fame Award from Central Arizona College, for his outstanding journalism, as a historian, and a photojournalist. He was also a sports correspondent for Arizona State University Football, the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball, Arizona’s Phoenix Suns Basketball, Professional Bull Riding (PBR), Ty Murray and Associates, the Arizona Interscholastic Activities (AIA) 365Sports, the New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) Sports, the Arizona Republic, and the Gallup Independent Sports. These sports awards and recognitions were meant with excellent award-winning sports journalism reviews. As a sports editor for over 30 years at the Navajo Times newspaper, he established the Navajo Times All-Area Athletic Sports Teams, established the Arizona vs New Mexico Basketball Classic, founder of the Navajo Nation Sports Hall of Fame, founder of the Native American Basketball Invitation (NABI) for Youth, and founder of the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball Native American Day for 10 consecutive years. He also recognized many athletes in the professional rodeo arena with the Indian National Finals Rodeo (NIFR), and the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) Association, and locally with the All-Indian Rodeo Cowboy Association (AIRCA), the Navajo Nation Cowboy Association (NNRCA). Oree Foster died on 3/1/2023 and will be missed.

< Back Tirza Twoteeth Tirza Twoteeth Sunchild-Cree/Salish Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Tirza Twoteeth is a multiple time High School All-American who graduated in the spring of 2025 as the #1 ranked 235 pounder in America. She committed to North Central College, the reigning National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships Runner-Up as part of a recruiting class that was ranked #1 overall among all college divisions by Flowrestling in the summer of 2025. Her collegiate career is already off to a fantastic start, as she has cemented herself as a top-10 heavyweight in the NCAA, with wins over multiple collegiate All-Americans already. She is part of a team that has finished the first semester ranked #3 in the NCAA, and herself is off to a terrific start academically while studying Nutrition. <Back

Carol Pickett Hull Category Athlete Tribe Inupiaq Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 4/7/64 An Alaska Native Games icon from Alaska, Carol Pickett won the 1989 Denali Award as Alaska’s Sportsperson of the Year. Even as a teenager she proved to be a natural with jaw-dropping kicks that reached 7 feet, pushing the women’s records to new heights. She still holds the world record in the traditional one-foot high kick, set in 1990. Born and raised in Anchorage, AK, Carol began participating in traditional Native sports in 1979. Since then, Carol has competed successfully in the Native Youth Olympics, World Eskimo Indian Olympics and Arctic Winter Games – Inuit Sports. For 30 plus years of participating in traditional Native sports, Carol has won over 100 medals to her collection as well as the 1989 Alaska State Sportsperson of the Year, Outstanding Contributor Award from World Eskimo Indian Olympics and various other recognitions. Married to fellow Alaska Native Games icon Garry Hull, Carol continues to support traditional Native games events by volunteering, coaching, organizing and officiating events. Home 2026 Banquet 2026 Banquet Sponsorship About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

Marty Ward Onondaga Nation, Snipe Clan Induction Category: Year Inducted Trainer 2026 <Back Marty Ward’s legacy is defined by a lifetime of service, excellence, and unwavering dedication to athletes at every level of competition. A proud member of the Onondaga Nation and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Marty was a trailblazer whose impact on hockey and lacrosse extended from local fields in Syracuse to the international stage. Over the course of nearly five decades, Marty earned a reputation as one of the most trusted and respected athletic trainers in the game. His professional career began in 1974 with the Syracuse Stingers of the National Lacrosse League. He went on to serve as head trainer for the Philadelphia Firebirds (1975–1979), the Syracuse Firebirds (1980–1982), and the Erie Golden Blades during the 1982–1983 season, demonstrating unmatched commitment and expertise in professional hockey. Equally profound was Marty’s devotion to his hometown. From 1979 through 2012, he served as the football and lacrosse trainer at Corcoran High School in Syracuse, New York, where generations of student-athletes benefited from his care, mentorship, and guidance. For more than three decades, Marty was a constant presence on the sidelines—teaching young athletes the importance of discipline, resilience, and respect, while ensuring their safety and well-being. His influence at Corcoran extended far beyond wins and losses, shaping lives and setting standards that endure to this day. Marty’s contributions to lacrosse are among the most distinguished in the sport. From 2006 to 2021, he served as a trainer for the OAC Redhawks Senior B Lacrosse Team, helping guide the organization to multiple championships. Under his care, the Redhawks captured CAN-AM Championships in 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018, as well as President’s Cup Championships in 2010 and 2014. On the international stage, Marty proudly served as head trainer for the Iroquois Nationals Men’s Field Lacrosse Team from 2006 to 2014. His work with the Nationals culminated in a historic Bronze Medal finish at the 2014 World Lacrosse Championship, a moment that brought pride to the team and to the Haudenosaunee people worldwide. Throughout his career, Marty Ward exemplified humility, professionalism, and cultural pride. He was more than a trainer—he was a mentor, healer, and steady presence who earned the trust of athletes from youth leagues to world championships. His dedication left an indelible mark on every program he touched. Marty Ward passed away in 2022, but his legacy lives on in the countless athletes he protected, inspired, and uplifted. His lifelong commitment to sport, community, and culture makes him forever deserving of recognition and remembrance as a true Hall of Fame figure.