< Back Rodger Ponfil Jr. Rodger Ponfil Jr. Menominee Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Rodger Ponfil Jr. started boxing at age 15, and in his first year won the Wisconsin State Junior Olympic Championship. In 1977 at age 16 he won a National Indian Activities Association (NIAA) championship at Carson City, NV. The following year he won the Wisconsin State AAU Title in the 112 lbs. Open Division. Also in 1978 he won the NIAA 112 lbs. National Title defeating Orvis Flying Horse of OK. After the 1978 NIAA title bout he flew to Biloxi, MS, and won four bouts in the National AAU championship then lost a disputed decision to Mike Felde of Missoula, MT. During the tournament Rodger defeated Jerome Coffee, the defending 112 lbs. champion and number one ranked boxer in the country. He also defeated Greg Richardson, a national Golden Gloves and AAU champion. Rodger was named to the All American Team and was ranked #2 in the nation in his weight division. While emerging as a national class boxer, the International Selection Committee assigned him to the 1978-79 USA International Team that competed against European, South American, African, and Asian teams in a series of televised bouts. <Back

Six Nations Arrows 2007 Minto Cup Champions Team 2026 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back Team Roster Back, left to right: Jack Hill, Don Chrysler, Julie Farmer, Matt Green, Cal Smith, Pierce Abrams, Joey Johnson, Larry Crawley, Eryn Jones. Standing, left to right: Karim Savoin, Gordie Gong, Lori Belliveau, Jeremy Bomberry, Aaron Peter Skye, Gage Thorpe, Lewis Staats, Tim VanLoon, Ben VanEvery, Corey Stringer, Keegan Hill, Corbyn Tao, Jake KIcknosway, Miller Rusbridge, Jeremy Jamieson, Regy Thorpe, Scott Smith, Marshall Abrams, Shawn and Tucker Williams. Kneeling: Curt Styres, Hunter Bowhunter, Jason Jones, Logan Kane, Cody Jamieson, Tory Gardner, Danny Hill, Mitch Nanticoke, Randy Johnson, Chris Courtney. Floor: Wake:riat Bowhunter, Brendan Bomberry, Sid Smith, Kyle Point, Craig Point, Shawn Evans, Lucas Miller, Tyler Hill, Holden Vyse, Kent Squire-Hill, Lee Thomas.

< Back David Powless David Powless Oneida Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2022 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. <Back

< Back Oscar Bunn Oscar Bunn Shinnecock Montauk Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 In those early days of golf—years before he would even be able to be considered a U.S. citizen— Oscar Bunn, Shinnecock Montauk, was a marquee name. Bunn had been taught club making and the game by Shinnecock’s Scottish professional, Willie Dunn. At the second U.S. Open, in 1896 at Shinnecock Hills, Oscar Smith Bunn, came in at 12th. He played in the 1899 U.S. Open at Roland Park Baltimore with John Shippen. In Golf, By Appointment, June 1899 issue, writing about a course in Florida, we find: “The professional record of 36 plus 39 equals 75 is held by Oscar Bunn, the club instructor who, although young, has proved himself to be a first-rate golfer as well as a capital instructor and clubmaker.” In 1900, he was hand-picked to meet the titan Harry Vardon at Lake Placid, when the “Vardon Invasion” came to spread the gospel of golf. Bunn and Vardon would link up twice with Oscar winning the second match. In an article titled “Vardon’s Waterloo,” from The New York Argus, August 20, 1900, we find written, “Harry Vardon was defeated by Oscar Bunn, ‘The Indian’ ... 33—38.” In 1901, he set the course record at Quinapoxet, Connecticut. The July 15, 1905, edition of the New York Times. The headline reads: “Indian Contestant Holds His Own Well Against Scotch Rivals.” Bunn represented Shinnecock Hills at Van Cortlandt Park. A review of the literature finds him listed as a professional at Shinnecock Hills, NY; Lake Placid, NY; New Britain, CT; Jacksonville, FL; and Ampersand in Saranac Lake, NY. In 1917, Oscar would follow Mungo Park II to Argentina, to assist in building the first golf course there. With the help of Historians Victorian Nenno and Rosemary Maravertz of the USGA, Dr. Mark Wagner and the Bunn-Martine family initiated a process whereby Oscar's portrait -- painted by David Bunn Martine -- now hangs in the USGA Hall of Fame in Pinehurst. <Back

Six Nations Arrows 1992 Minto Cup Champions 2026 Team Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back In 1992, the Six Nations Arrows became the first Indigenous team to win the prestigious Minto Cup – emblematic of Junior Lacrosse supremacy for Canada. Success in Minor Lacrosse - a Peewee A and a Midget A provincial championship and a Bantam A national Championship - were early indications greater things were in store for these young talented players. A few players spent three or four years away from their home community of Six Nations of the Grand River, to gain valuable experience in the Junior A circuit. It was during these years the Six Nations Junior B club worked to become a Junior A franchise. In 1990, the Six Nations Arrows entered their first competitive season as a Jr. A team. In their first season, they did not make the playoffs and in their second season, they were eliminated in the Ontario finals by St. Catharines who went on the win the Minto Cup. In their third year as a franchise, the Six Nations Arrows won the Minto Cup. Six Nations Arrows may not be the first, nor are they likely to be the last team, to win a significant sports championship, in only three years of existence. They got to hold ‘the Cup’ for a year but they will inspire players and teams on Six Nations for years and decades to come. 1992 Six Nations Arrows Minto Cup Junior A Canadian Champions Team Roster: Brian Staats, Lewis Staats, Jack Hill, Wayne Miller, Cap Bomberry, Dave General, Scott Cavan, Trevor Brennan, Doyle Bomberry, Tim Bomberry, Pete Skye Jr., Miles General, Cam Bomberry, Neil Bomberry, Dallas Squire, Arlie LaForne, Ken Sandy, Claude Sault, Pete Skye Sr., Bob Henry, Chad Squire, Daren Wilson, Brandon Hill, Jason Johnson, Randy Renaud, Scott Ranson, Ed Vyse, Travis Hill, Art Smith, Wayne VanEvery, Yul Baker, George Baker, Keith Martin. Credit: Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition

Onondaga Redhawks 2010 President’s Cup Champions Team 2026 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back Team Roster: Spencer Lyons - G, Jeremy Thompson, Kevin Wilkerson, Drew Bucktooth, Michael S. Abrams, Ryan Lewis, Ronald Cogan Jr. - C, Pete Benedict, Clayton Jones, Brian Bucktooth Jr., Tyler Hill, Grant Bucktooth, Neal Powless, Wade Bucktooth, Dustin Hill, A.J. Bucktooth, Sam Shenandoah, Dwayne Porter, Dave Stout, Kevin Bucktooth Jr., Murray Stout Jr. - A, Brett Bucktooth Sr., Ross Bucktooth - G, Head Coach: Freeman “Boss” Bucktooth, Asst. Coaches: Kevin Powless and Brian Phillips, GM: Alf E. Jacques, Trainers: Marty Ward and Sunny Shenandoah

< Back Dennis J Danforth Sr. Dennis J Danforth Sr. Oneida Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Dennis Danforth Sr., “Teyohahase – Good Road,” is a member of the Oneida Nation (WI). Danforth earned his Associates degree in Business Management and currently works for the Oneida Comprehensive Housing Division. A devoted husband to Margaret Danforth and an amazing father to seven children and a proud grandfather to 14 grandchildren. Danforth began his boxing journey at 10 years old with his brothers at the Oneida Mission Boxing Club in Oneida, WI. This was the beginning of shaping a lifetime of family, healthy relationships, and core values through hard work, fitness, and commitment. Danforth’ high school years began at West De Pere High School, and in his junior year in 1974 he transferred to the Flandreau Indian School in Flandreau, South Dakota. Danforth was a multi-sport athlete playing football, basketball, track & field, and boxing. Trained by the late Joe O’Brien, a former Ojibwe boxer and a Marine veteran, Danforth learned valuable lessons of self-control, strategy, focus, sportsmanship, and was a boxing standout. Although Danforth was offered a football scholarship to Black Hill State University, his love of boxing took him on a journey that shaped his lifetime of self-discipline, humbleness, and competitiveness that he shares with his children and grandchildren. Danforth fought in the welterweight and middleweight classes. His greatest accomplishments as a boxer were being invited to the 1976 Olympic Trials and being a three-time National Indian Athletic Association two-weight class champion. Danforth won the 1977 South Dakota State Championship, the Upper Midwest Golden Gloves Championships in Minneapolis, and eventually crowned the 1977 Golden Gloves Welterweight Champion. He received a bid to the U.S. National Golden Gloves Tournament in Hawaii, where he joined Team Minnesota. He fought hard in Honolulu where he was defeated in a controversial split decision to a former three division world champion professional fighter. Danforth was also a two-time Wisconsin State AAU Boxing Tournament champion and participated in three National AAU Boxing tournaments throughout Indian Country. Danforth now enjoys passing on core values through coaching, singing for his community, and inspiring others to learn their culture, language and always be proud of who they are. <Back

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< Back Phil Jordon Phil Jordon Nomlaki Wailaki Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Phil Jordon is the Redwood Empire’s forgotten NBA big man. Born in 1933, Phil attended Willits High School, moving to Spokane after receiving a scholarship to play basketball for Whitworth College. His opportunities in a small town were limited and his ability as an athlete of unusual height, provided his chance. His early life was not easy, his father died when he was a teenager and mother Elizabeth had to care for the four boys and his sister. When the scholarship was offered, it included a home. His Native culture was only evident with his family and friends. The Nome Cult Trail in 1863 brought together many tribes in Northern California during its awful forced march from Paskenta to the Round Valley Reservation. Phil’s Nomlaki and Wailaki heritage was created at this time. At Whitworth College, Phil’s team was Collegiate Champion in 1954 and in 1956, Phil was on the Buchan Bakers AAU Championship team. He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1956 of the NBA, which had only eight teams. Phil Jordon was the first Native American to play in the NBA, a trailblazer, and like his African American teammates, suffered from racists and bigots of the times. Phil was an effective big man of that era, averaging over 10 points a game, scoring with a hook shot, from both hands. He played alongside and against the greats of those times, teaming with Bob Cousy, and Oscar Robertson and against Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. The only reason Wilt scored 100 points in an NBA game, was because Phil was ill and could not suit up. He played also for the Cincinnati Royals, Detroit Pistons and the St. Louis Hawks, from 1956-1963. On January 5, 2025, the Golden State Warriors honored Phil Jordon with a halftime celebration, including native dancers from Northern California, and Paskenta Tribal Dancers. The Warriors presented his sister Shirley and daughter Juliana with a Certificate of Excellence on his behalf. The Nomlaki Band of Paskenta Indians has a Federal Reservation near Corning, California, created in 1994, and after many years of effort to become recognized. Phil died by drowning on the Puyallup River, in Tacoma, Washington in 1963. <Back

Becki Wells-Staley Category Athlete Tribe Blackfeet and Blood Year Inducted 2022 D.O.B. 9/9/1974 Becki Wells-Staley established herself as one of the most elite female Native American Athletes in history while running Track and Field and Cross Country. Becki is a 20-time North Dakota State Champion. She graduated from Dickinson High School holding the fastest times in the country for the High School Girls 1600m and 800m in 1993. She was the US Jr. National Champion in the Girls 1500m in ‘93. Wells-Staley went on to represent the US in the Jr. Pan American Game in Winnipeg where she was a silver medalist. Wells-Staley signed with the University of Alabama to run Track and Field and Cross Country. She was the Southeastern XC Conference winner in her first season with the Tide. She was the Jr. National XC Champion in 1994. In 1995 Wells-Staley transferred to the University of Florida. Wells-Staley was the Commissioner Trophy Award winner twice while running for the Florida Gators. The Commissioner’s Trophy goes to the highest point scorer at the SEC Track and Field Championships. She ended her career with the Gators winning the NCAA DI National Title in the Indoor Women’s Mile and the Outdoor Women’s 1500m. She held the school record for over a decade at 4:12.88. She is a 10 X All American in Track and Field and XC. She went on to represent Nike, Reebok and The Native American Sports Council as a professional athlete in Track and Field. Wells-Staley qualified for the 2000 US Olympic Trials in Track and Field in the 800m and 1500m. Becki still holds the North Dakota State record for high school girls at 4:44.44. She was inducted into the Dickinson High School Hall of Fame, the ND State Athletics Hall of Fame and also the University of Florida Hall of Fame for Athletics. Becki currently lives in North Mankato, MN with her husband Maurice Staley who played football for the University of Tennessee (94’-96’). The Staley’s have four boys: Eleazar, Ephraim, Nahshon and Nathan. Home 2027 Banquet 2027 Banquet Sponsorship About Inductee Search Provincial Nominees Contact More

< Back Ross Powless Ross Powless Mohawk Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete/Coach 2023 Considered one of the fathers of modern lacrosse in Canada, Ross Powless was born in Ohsweken Ontario, on the Six Nations of the Grand River in 1926. Belonging to the Turtle clan (Kanien'kehá:ka) of the Haudenosaunee, or Six Nations Confederacy, Ross spent five years as a child at the Mohawk Institute Indigenous Residential School in Brantford, Ontario. Lacrosse, the Creator’s game, which holds deep spiritual and cultural significance for the Haudenosaunee people, offered Ross a powerful way to reclaim his heritage after enduring extreme deprivation and isolation from family and culture at residential school. Ross could not help but raise the profile of lacrosse wherever he played the game. Between 1951 and 1953, he won three consecutive Canadian Senior A championship titles with the Peterborough Timbermen. In 1951 and 1952, he claimed the Tom Longboat Award twice as the most outstanding First Nations athlete in Ontario. In 1953, he was awarded the Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player in Canadian Senior A lacrosse. As player-coach of Hamilton Lincoln Burners Senior “A” team between 1956 and 1958, Ross won every Ontario Lacrosse Association trophy he was eligible to claim, including Top Scorer, Most Valuable Player, Best Defensive Player and Coach of the Year. Among his many coaching highlights, Ross led the Canadian Senior Men’s Lacrosse Team to defeat the United States at Expo ‘67 in Montreal. Despite encountering racism, Ross continually broke down barriers for Indigenous peoples. His son, Gaylord Powless, who was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, stands out as one of the great lacrosse players taught and inspired by Ross. In 2020, Ross was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame for Lacrosse in the Builder category. In 2003, Ross Powless passed away, a respected elder in his community. <Back

< Back Angel Goodrich Angel Goodrich United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2023 Angel Goodrich was born in Glendale, Arizona, to parents Jonathan and Fayth Lewis. She has two siblings, an older brother Zach and a younger sister Nikki. She is a member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. Goodrich attended Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where she was the first Division 1 athletic scholarship recipient in school history. During her time at the Cherokee-operated school, she led the Lady Indians to three consecutive Class AAA state titles and a runner-up finish. She scored over 2,000 points in her illustrious career. As a senior, Goodrich was named 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year in Oklahoma and received the honor of being a WBCA/State Farm All-American. After high school, Goodrich went on to play basketball at the University of Kansas. During her freshman year, Angel tore her left ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), which kept her on the sidelines for the entire season. The following year she tore her right ACL after only 15 games. Despite these bumps in her basketball journey, she still scored over 1,000 points in her career as a Jayhawk, and became the Jayhawks’ all-time career assists leader. Goodrich’s total of 771 assists ranks her as the third-highest in Big 12 Conference history. In her senior year, Goodrich was a finalist for the Naismith Award, Wade Trophy, Wooden Award, Nancy Lieberman Award, and the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. She also earned First Team All Big 12 honors, and was a member of the WBCA All-Region 5 Team. In 2013, Goodrich was selected in the third round of the WNBA draft (29th pick overall) by the Tulsa Shock. At the time she was the highest-drafted Native American player in the history of the WNBA. In 2014, she completed her second and final season with the Shock. In 2015, she was picked up by the Seattle Storm. With the Storm, she registered her first double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) in her WNBA career. Goodrich’s WNBA career ended in 2016. During these years, she also spent time playing overseas in both Poland and Russia. Angel currently resides in Oklahoma as a firefighter for the Tulsa Fire Department and in her spare time, officiates youth basketball games. Photo Credit: The Seattle Storm <Back