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< Back Aloysius “Al” Waquie Aloysius “Al” Waquie Walatowa Pueblo of Jemez Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Al Waquie is known as “King of the Mountains,” one of the best of America’s high-country runners. His Indigenous name is Sho-Nee-Toe, the name of his father’s favorite hunting ground. Al ran as a way of gaining harmony with the land and environment, an ideal that is the spiritual foundation of his tribe’s culture. Al is quoted saying, “My grandfather always told me, ‘Whenever there is a big crowd, just stay away. Be on your own.’" He nearly always ran alone, often heading into the mountains and not emerging for five days. Al lives at 6,000ft elevation and would regularly run at Redondo Peak which sits at over 11,000ft elevation. In 1971 Al was a Cross Country All American at Haskell Jr. College. He was an eight time winner and record holder of the La Luz Trail Run at Sandia Peak near Albuqerque, NM. The grueling La Luz Trail Run is a nine-mile climb up a 12% grade to the top of 10,678-foot Sandia Crest. He was the five time winner of the Empire State Building Run. He negotiated the 86-story, 1,050-foot climb by taking the 1,575 steps two at a time until he reached the finish line on the observation deck and beating his opponents to the top by 26 seconds. Al dominated the 80’s and is currently tied for the second-most men’s victories, winning 5 consecutive times between 1983 and 1987. Al was a two-time winner of Pikes Peak Marathon and record holder; his record is at 3:26:17, a numbing 28-mile trek to the summit of the 14,110-foot mountain and then back down. Other accomplishments was being named the AAU Athlete of Month – August, 1978 and received the Sports Illustrated Merit Award – 1980 and Popay Tricentennial Award – 1980. He was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. He was also featured article in Sports Illustrated and the Los Angeles Times along with numerous other publications. Each time Waquie won a race or conquered the skyscraper, it has been a reaffirmation that, for him, the Indian way is better than modern life. “Running is a religion with my people. It is part of our century-old spiritual ceremonial. It is part of my soul, my reason for being,” Al said in a previous interview. <Back

< Back Victoria Bach Victoria Bach Mohawk Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2023 Victoria Bach is a Mohawk from the Bay of Quinte. She grew up in Milton, Ontario. Her late grandmother was raised in the Tyendinaga territory, where she had her father, George Bach. Melissa and George are her parents, and she has one brother Jacob. Victoria Bach attended Boston University for four years and played on the Ice Hockey team. Victoria was the first player to score 100 goals in Terrier history and became the school's all-time point leader in 2018 with 104 goals and 198 points. Throughout her time at Boston University, she accomplished the following: Regina Eilberg Scholarship Hockey East Rookie of the Year Hockey East First Team All-Star (2017-18, 2016-17) New England Division I All-Star (2017-18, 2016-17) CM/AHCA First Team All-American AMCA All-American Scholars Mildred Barnes Female Athlete of the Year In her senior year, she was nominated Top 3 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award. The Patty Kazmaier Award is presented annually to the top players in the NCAA Division 1 women's ice hockey. After graduating from university, she played professional hockey in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). During her year of professional hockey, she won Rookie of the Year. Victoria has been a part of the Hockey Canada National team since 2014. In 2014 she was named to the U18 Women's World Championship team, where she won a gold medal. Victoria has also played in 2020, 2021 and 2022 Women's World Championships. She won back-to-back gold medals at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships, but 2020 was cancelled due to Covid. She was recently an alternate at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, where the team won Gold in Beijing. She is currently a member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Association, with goals to promote, advance, and support a professional women’s hockey league. <Back

Theodore Niizhotay Fontaine <Back Sagkeeng Anishinaabe First Nation Induction Category: Media/Team Year Inducted 2023 Theodore Niizhotay Fontaine, Anishinaabe hockey player, Chief, Elder, author, educator, public speaker. Theodore survived 12 years incarcerated in Indian residential schools, experiencing sexual, physical, emotional and spiritual abuse. The freedom of playing hockey as a child, and later as an adult, was critical to his survival. Theodore played senior and semi-professional hockey, signing a “C” contract with the Detroit Red Wings, but overt racism led him to give up his opportunity. This lifelong regret led to his determination to succeed in spite of his residential schools experiences. He graduated in Civil Engineering in 1973, and served as Chief of Sagkeeng First Nation. He played for 10 years with the Sagkeeng Oldtimers, winning international, national and regional awards, including three World Cups. He initiated donations of personal and hockey artifacts to Canada’s Hockey Hall of Fame and to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Theodore dedicated his career to supporting Indigenous people, including 11 years with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and serving on boards supporting Indigenous participation in the Pan-American Games, sports, social and economic issues. He taught Indigenous Governance at the Banff Centre for Management and co-founded the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute. His work led to reclamation and commemoration of the Assiniboia Residential School and publishing of survivor stories Did You See Us?. His national bestselling memoir, Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools, led to public speaking to 1600 audiences from students to professionals in sports, justice, policing, corrections, social services and health care. He authored the foreword for Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America; the foreword to Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools; and contributed to multiple Indigenous publications and anthologies. Theodore’s leadership and success through activism and writing are his legacy for Indigenous truth and equity in Canada. Photos: Theodore at left, Fort Alexander Indian Residential School about 1950 Theodore speaking to health professionals University of Manitoba Grand Rounds

< Back Kevin Sandy Kevin Sandy Cayuga Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete/Coach/Builder 2023 Kevin Vincent Sandy belongs to the Lower Cayuga Nation, Wolf Clan, Haudenosaunee and resides on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. His two amazing children are Aamisk and Menaywaywyn who belong to the beautiful Mushkegowuk and Haudenosaunee way of life of their parents. Sandy was the first General Manager of the Six Nations Arrows Lacrosse team who went on to become the first Indigenous team in the world to win the Minto Cup Canadian Jr. A Lacrosse Championship in 1992. He enjoyed visiting families, bringing the players together, to come home and believe in a dream to compete at the highest level possible in their sport of choice. He’s been the General Manager of the Six Nations Rebels who won Canadian and Ontario Lacrosse Championships in the late 1990’s. Sandy has helped build, plan and organize the Haudenosaunee National teams who won silver at the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships (Halifax, NS) and 2008, U-19 World Field Lacrosse Team (Coquitlam, BC). Sandy has functioned as a builder/organizer in hosting, staging and delivering the 2017 North American Indigenous Games, Box Lacrosse Competition at Six Nations of the Grand River, which seen girls competing for the first time at these games. Record crowds and players participated in the games, which was held at three separate venues over a one-week period in Grand River Territory. He also helped host and stage the World Indoor U19 Lacrosse Challenge at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory (2015) prior to the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships (Onondaga Nation). <Back

Malcolm Blacksmith <Back Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Malcolm Blacksmith has been a lacrosse coach for the past 25 years. He started his lacrosse coaching career in 2000 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He started working with families in the north central area that were in low income status. He also worked with the Regina Sports Council getting equipment for the kids. Blacksmith started a novice team and called them Warriors Lacrosse. He worked on getting his coaching certificate for Level 2 box lacrosse, so he could coach at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). He was the coach of Team Saskatchewan for a number of years. In 2004 he and others started getting a lacrosse team to take to NAIG 2005 in Colorado, but didn't have enough time to get ready. They turned their box lacrosse team into a field lacrosse team instead and represented Saskatchewan at nationals that year in August. In 2008 he coached Team Saskatchewan at NAIG when it was held in Cowichan, British Columbia. In 2011 he started coaching midget and junior lacrosse for Sagkeeng First Nation about two hours north of Winnipeg. In 2012 he started coaching for Team Manitoba U16, and U19 lacrosse teams. In 2014 he took U16 and U19 lacrosse teams to Regina, Saskatchewan where NAIG 2014 was held. The team came home with the bronze medal for U16 team. In 2015 the Manitoba Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Council held its annual awards day and during the Night of Champions Awards Ceremony he received the Male Aboriginal Coach of the Year award. In 2017 he took Team Manitoba to Toronto NAIG 2017. In 2020 they were to go to Halifax, Nova Scotia for NAIG 2020 but Covid hit the world. The team attended NAIG 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

< Back Dane Evans Dane Evans Wichita Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Dane Evans is a former professional quarterback known for his standout career at the University of Tulsa and his success in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Evans made a name for himself at Sanger High School in Texas before enrolling at Tulsa in 2012. Evans became the Golden Hurricane’s starting quarterback in 2013 and went on to set multiple school records. By the end of his college career, he held program records for career passing yards (11,680), passing touchdowns (84), completions (904), and attempts (1,567). In 2015, he threw for a school-record 4,332 yards and 25 touchdowns, ranking among the national leaders in several passing categories. He capped off his collegiate career with a dominant performance in the 2016 Miami Beach Bowl, earning MVP honors after throwing for over 300 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Central Michigan. Despite going undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft, Evans signed briefly with the Philadelphia Eagles before making his mark in the CFL. He joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2018, initially serving as a backup before taking over as starter in 2019. That season, he passed for 3,754 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading Hamilton to a 15-3 record and a Grey Cup appearance. Over five CFL seasons with Hamilton and later the BC Lions, Evans amassed 9,636 passing yards and 49 touchdowns, plus 10 rushing scores. In 2023, Evans joined the BC Lions and played a key role as a reliable backup and spot starter. He announced his retirement from professional football on January 1, 2024, ending his playing career on his own terms. Transitioning into coaching, Evans served as a graduate assistant at North Texas and coached at the high school level before being named Assistant Quarterbacks Coach and Pass Game Coordinator at Texas State in 2025. His leadership, football IQ, and passion for the game continue to shape his promising coaching career. <Back

Jason Johnson <Back Onondaga Nation, Wolf Clan Induction Category: Year Inducted Coach 2025 Jason Johnson worked with the National Lacrosse League’s (NLL) Rochester Knighthawks for 11 seasons and from 2019 to present with the Halifax Thunderbirds. He served more than 12 years as Assistant Coach and then was the Director of Player Development with Halifax. In 2014, he was a member of the coaching staff that won a league-record third straight NLL Championship. Johnson was named Head Coach for the first Haudenosaunee Nationals Women’s Box lacrosse team capturing the bronze medal at the 2024 World Championships in Utica, NY. Johnson was the General Manager for the Six Nations Arrows in the Ontario Junior “A” Lacrosse League. He was the offensive coach from 2004 to 2006, the team won three consecutive Ontario Championships and advanced to three Minto Cup Finals. He was also an assistant coach in 2009, 2010, 2022, and 2023. Johnson was an assistant coach with the Six Nations Minor in 1995 and coached for the past 30 years. In 2024 he assisted with Six Nations U11 Box team winning their first U11 Provincial “A” championship and in 2023 he was an assistant with Six Nations U9 minors winning their first U9 “A” Provincial Championship. In 2015, he won a gold medal as an assistant coach with Team Ontario at the U15 Field Nationals. As a scout for the Iroquois, they won a silver medal at the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. Johnson worked alongside his daughter Tawnie, as an assistant coach, and led the Western Mustangs women's lacrosse team to their fifth straight Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship. In 2014, he was a scout for the Iroquois Nationals and won a bronze medal at the 2014 FIL World Lacrosse Championship. In 2013, Johnson served as the head coach of the Team Iroquois Midget Box Team, and guided the 15 to 16-year-olds to a silver medal at the STX Midget Lacrosse Championship of Canada. He led the Six Nations Bantams to the gold medal at the 2012 Provincials. Johnson and 2024 NAIAHF inductee Curt Styres received Six Nations Minor Lacrosse Association Coaching Staff of the Year honors after leading the Bantams to the Provincial Championship. In 2012 Johnson worked as an assistant coach for the Iroquois Nationals at the U19 World Championships in Turku, Finland. The Iroquois won bronze and defeated Team USA in pool play to earn its first victory over the Americans in the tournament. Johnson was an assistant coach for the Hamilton Nationals for five seasons and the team advanced to three Major League Lacrosse Championships and won the 2009 title.

< Back Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard CHamoru Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete/Builder 2023 Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard is a community organizer, Indigenous environmental conservation advocate, educator, and rock climber. She is Native CHamoru and Indigenous to the island of Guam, a US territory, but currently resides on the ancestral homeland of the Shawandasse Tula and Myaamia peoples in Cincinnati, Ohio with her partner and son. Mazzolini-Blanchard is the Co-Founder of the Indigenous Field Guide, a digital resource created to amplify Indigenous voices and provide public education to prevent the damage of non-renewable environmental and cultural resources, and she is also the Strategic Partnerships Manager for Access Fund, the nation's leading climber advocacy organization. She is an athlete representing Mammut North America, Gnarly Nutrition, SCARPA North America, Rhino Skin Solutions, and Asana Climbing. <Back

2019 Haudenosaunee Nationals Women Team 2024 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back The Haudenosaunee Nationals women's team won the gold medal in the Pan-American Lacrosse World Qualifiers in Auburndale, Florida. The team started the tournament defeating Columbia 17-3. Next, they defeated Jamaica 21-3 to advance to the semifinals against Mexico. After defeating Mexico 14-4, the Haudenosaunee Nationals met Puerto Rico in the championship game, winning by a score of 16-6 to sweep through the tournament unbeaten. Top row left to right: WL Competition Chair Fiona Clark; HL Asst. Coach Leah Gallagher; Taylor Frink, Onondaga; Victoria Thompson, Mohawk; Tsiotenhariio Herne, Mohawk; Lois Garlow, Seneca; Mirabella Lazore, Mohawk; Enahaogwahs Schindler, Cayuga; Fantasy Jimerson, Seneca; Amber Hill, Cayuga; Gawehegyeho Thomas, Cayuga; HN Head Coach Katie Rowan; WL President Sue Redfern; HN Manager Tia Schindler, Cayuga Bottom row left to right: Kimberly Gibson, Cayuga; Jacelyn Lazore, Mohawk; Jalyn Jimerson, Cayuga; Katie Smith, Mohawk; Wadatawi Bomberry, Mohawk; Kohen Schindler, Cayuga; Trystyn Miller, Oneida; Dana Isaacs, Onondaga; Awehiyo Thomas, Cayuga; PALA President Katherine Loh

2023 Haudenosaunee Nationals Women Team 2024 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back The Haudenosaunee won the women’s competition at the 2023 PALA Sixes Cup in Kingston, Jamaica. The Haudenosaunee were dominant in the tournament and defeated previously unbeaten Puerto Rico 22-11 in the gold medal game. The Haudenosaunee finished with a 5-0 record and won by at least 11 goals in every game. Back row left to right: Bean Minerd, Onondaga; Paige Crandall, Onondaga; Tallis Tarbell, Mohawk; Lois Garlow, Seneca; Jalyn Jimerson, Cayuga; Allie Trice, Oneida; Fawn Porter, Cayuga; Liz Beville; and Tim Bomberry, Cayuga. Front row left to right: Paisley Cook, Mohawk; Sierra Cockerille, Mohawk; Avery Doran, Mohawk; Jordan Coulon, Onondaga; Olivia Hoffmann, Mohawk; and Lottie Gill, Tuscarora.

2021 Haudenosaunee Nationals Women Team 2024 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back The international lacrosse tournament featured 10 teams from seven Pan American countries. Florida hosted the 2021 PALA tournament showcasing World Lacrosse’s new Sixes discipline. The Iroquois Nationals team were victorious in the women’s division, and had dominated the sport and remained undefeated the entire tournament. The Iroquois Nationals defeated Puerto Rico in the championship by a score of 17-9. The women finished the tournament with a plus 64 goal differential and an amazing accomplishment for the Haudenosaunee women. Top row left to right: Cassandra Minerd, Onondaga; Jalyn Jimerson, Cayuga; Lois Garlow, Seneca; Sierra Cockerille, Mohawk; Taylor Frink, Onondaga; and Jacelyn Lazore, Mohawk Bottom row left to right: Ewehegwahs Williams, Cayuga; Lynnzee Miller, Cayuga; Beretta Santana, Seneca; Ivy Santana, Seneca; Jordan Coulon, Onondaga; and Jenna Haring, Seneca