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Can Am Warriors Team 2026 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back In 1980 the first attempt for a World Box Lacrosse Championship was held in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia (BC) from July 8-17. Five teams participated in the event, Canada West (Coquitlam Adanacs), Canada East (Brooklyn Redman), Australia, US, and North American Natives (Can Am Warriors). The Can Am Warriors were represented by players from the Haudenosaunee and Squamish Nation from BC. The majority of the native players played in the Can-Am Senior B league located in New York State and eastern Canada. That is why the team's entry name for the tournament was Can Am Warriors. Prior to the tournament the Can AM Warriors played the North Shore Indians team twice, and split the games 1-1. Six players from the North Shore team were added to the Can Am team to form the final roster. The team had excellent goalies and the players were young, skilled, and fast. During the round robin tournament the Warriors went 2-2, losing to both the Canadian teams. In the semifinal game the Warriors beat Canada East in a high scoring game that sent them into the finals against the tournament favorite, Canada West. The final game was played at the Pacific Coliseum in front of 7,500 lacrosse fans. The coliseum was electrified by the sound of the beating drums by the Squamish people that added motivation to the native team. It was the largest crowd any of the Can Am Warrior players had ever played in front of in their careers. The first period ended with a one goal lead for the Warriors. The game went back and forth and eventually the size and experience of the Canadian team led them to win the gold medal, 16-11. The Can Am Warriors entertained lacrosse fans in lower mainland arenas with their lacrosse skills during the tournament and finished with a hard fought and highly respectable silver medal. Back Row L to R: Ross Powless, Roy Pinder, Trainer, Harry Powless, Barry Powless, Chuck Martin, Freeman Bucktooth, Tom Thomas, Steve Miller, Louie Mitchell, Dave Bray, Ernie Mitchell, Gilbert Jacobs, Willis Baker, Wes Patterson, Peter Garrow, Frank Baker. Middle Row L to R: Dennis Murrey, Gary Powless, Dave Waterman, Mike Cornelius, Wayne Baker, Delmar Jacobs, Larry King, Dave White, Allan Newmanm, Ryan Newman. Bottom Row L to R: Keith Baker, Jeff Gill, Chuck Stevens, Vern Baker, Jeff Guss, Sam Seward, Frankie Davis.

Kahnawake Hunters 2025 Founder’s Cup Champions Team 2026 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back The Kahnawake Hunters ended the 2025 season in historic fashion. The Hunters were crowned the 2025 Founders Cup as the Canadian Junior B Lacrosse National Champions – becoming the first team in Kahnawake’s history to win a national championship in any sport. The Kahnawake Hunters represent the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League and have been a member of the league since 2009. In 2024, the Hunters began their historic run by making it past the second round of the OJBLL playoffs for the first time and then made it to the Ontario Finals against the Elora Hawks. Elora would win the best-of-five series 3-0 and would go on to win the 2024 Founders Cup. The Hunters would go on to have a 15-5 record for the 2025 regular season, finishing in second place the OJBLL’s Eastern Conference. The Hunters would then go on to win their first found series against the Halton Hills Bulldogs 3-1. That set up a second-round matchup against the Green Gaels, who the Hunters would sweep 3-0. The Hunters would then take on the Akwesasne Thunder in the Eastern Conference Final. Game 1 of the Eastern Final was one of the most tightly-contested games of the playoffs, with the Hunters edging Akwesasne 9-8 overtime. The Hunters would go on to win the series 3-0 to go on to the Ontario final in a rematch of the 2024 finals against the Elora Hawks. After winning the first two games by scores of 12-6, and 9-8, Elora had a 2-0 lead in the series before the series shifted to Kahnawake. The Hunters would then win both games three and four by scores 10-9 and 9-8 to even the series at 2-2 heading back to Elora for the fifth and final game. The Hunters would go on to decisively win game five by a score of 13-7 to win the Ontario Championship and punch their ticket to the 2025 Founders Cup. Once at the Founders Cup, the Hunters went on to go a perfect 5-0 in the tournament, including a 9-4 win over the Coquitlam Adanacs in the gold medal game to win the Founders Cup. Team Roster: Tehahente Albany, Tehorahkwaneken Albany, Lleyton Bomberry-Sowden, Zane Chiefmoon, Crayton Cree, Cy Deer, Tehaianerahkhwa Deer, Ioteseronties Diabo, Kaymen Diabo, Tylen Diabo, Hawi Francis, Darris Jones, Kasey Lahache, Leland Lahache, Deeland Martin, Tycen Mccomber, Warren Oakes, Owen Rice, Shakononhkwahtsheronniennis Rice, Winter Rivera, Rohahes Stacey, Bryce Stout, Shatekaienthokwen VanDommelen, Shatekaienthon VanDommelen, Jenson White, Wesley Morris, Brett Bucktooth Jr. Managers/Owners: Derek Stacey and Jadie Cross, General Manager: Greg Horn, Head Coach: Brandon Francis, Assistant Coaches: Brett Bucktooth, Thunder Jacobs, Kahnawiio Dione, and Kirby Joe Diabo, Assistant General Manager: Kirby Joe Diabo, Equipment Manager: Katsirakeron McComber, Assistant Equipment Manager: Madden McComber, Social Media Manager: Atewenniiohstha Jacobs; Co-owners: Jason Maracle and Tara Maracle.

< Back Alissa Pili Alissa Pili Inupiaq/Samoan Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Alissa Pili was born in Anchorage, AK in June 2001. On her mother’s side, Alissa is of Inupiaq descent, from the North Slope region of Alaska. On her father’s side, she is of Samoan descent, rooting from the village of Aua, American Samoa. For the first seven years of her life, she lived in Utqiagvik, aka Barrow, the northernmost city in the United States. Alissa spent the rest of her childhood in Anchorage, where she enjoyed outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, fishing and playing sports. Alissa compiled 13 state titles during her athletic career at Dimond High School including four in volleyball, four in shot put, two in discus, two in basketball, and one in wrestling. She was named the Max Preps National Female Athlete of the Year two years in a row, and is a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year for girls’ basketball. She went on to play basketball for the University of Southern California, where she was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Injuries were an issue during sophomore and junior year, and she felt like she needed a new start, so she entered the transfer portal and landed at the University of Utah. From there, her career took off, earning Pac-12 player of the year and all Pac-12 honors her first year with the Utes and she led her team to the conference title. In her second year as a Ute, during a showcase game featuring the #1 South Carolina Gamecocks, she scored 37 points with WNBA scouts in attendance, and her WNBA draft stock soared. She was drafted #8 overall in the 2024 WNBA draft to the Minnesota Lynx, and landed an endorsement deal with Nike’s Indigenous focused N7 brand, where she was the face of their 2024 Native American Heritage Month campaign. Alissa looks forward to her continued success in the WNBA and being a representative of not only the Native American and Polynesian communities around the world, but to all who love women’s sports and aspire to uplift one another. <Back

< Back Lucas Martinez Lucas Martinez Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Lucas Martinez was a 2008 graduate of Bismarck High School (ND). In only two years of high school varsity, the team was a North Dakota state tournament runner-up in 2007 with an 18-7 record and a state champion in 2008 (23-2). In 2008 Martinez was named All-Conference, First Team All-State and was a McDonald’s All-American Nominee. Martinez accepted a scholarship to Williston State College during the 2009-10 school year. He led the Tetons to a Region 13 Championship his sophomore season. In 2010, the team lost in triple overtime on the road for a trip to Nationals. His 2010 junior college accolades included being named First Team All Conference, First team All Region, NJCAA Region 13 MVP, Second Team All-American honors for NJCAA Division l, and was nationally ranked in the top 25 in scoring. After a successful stint at Williston State, Lucas received a full ride scholarship to play NCAA Division l at the University of Wyoming from 2011-2013. He helped his team to two 20+ win seasons. His team was nationally ranked his senior year in NCAA Division l. His NCAA D1 accolades included being named the 2012 Jim Thorpe Thanksgiving Classic MVP, ranked first in made three-pointers (81) in the Mountain West Conference, ranked second in single season three-pointers made in UW history, ranked seventh in single season steals in UW history (54), and in 2013 set a school record for nine steals in a game. He was ranked in the top ten of the UW All Time career three-pointers made and was named to the Global Sports Hoops Showcase All-Tournament Team. Lucas Martinez had an amazing international professional basketball career. He has eight championships as a professional player with three MVP campaigns. Martinez played professional from 2014 to 2025 in Mexico, Venezuela. Argentina, Israel, and Brazil. His professional basketball accolades included being named Intercontinental Cup Champion (2016), LNBP Champion (2018), in 2020 the LNBP regular season MVP, LNBP Champion and LNBP Finals MVP, in 2021 the NBB Super 8 Champion, BCLA Champion, and NBB Champion, in 2022 the Intercontinental Cup Champion and Intercontinental Cup MVP and in 2025 the LNBP Value Cup Champion. Lucas Martinez jersey will be retired by Soles de Mexicali when he finishes his professional career. Photo Credit: Soles de Mexicali <Back

< Back Phillip Whiteman Jr. Phillip Whiteman Jr. Northern Cheyenne Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Northern Cheyenne traditional Chief Phillip Whiteman Jr, Heove ve'keso (Yellowbird), comes from a long line of chiefs and horse people, who are caretakers of horse medicine and songs. Phillip Whiteman Jr. is a two-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider in the Indian National Finals Rodeo (INFR) in 1985 and 1999. He qualified 26 times for the INFR and held the highest mark ride of 86 points for 34 years. He won the Open Northern Rodeo Association (NRA) title twice in 1991 and 1993, and was a seven-time world finalist at El Paso, Texas under the North American Rodeo Commission (NARC). He became a champion in the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) and was selected to join their first All American Rodeo and Wild West Show to Europe, organized by Jerome Robinson. As a PRCA member he became the first European tour champion in Helsinki, Finland, with a score of 91, besting the champions of the time, including three-time PRCA world champion, Monty (Hawkeye) Henson. He competed on the same tour in Paris, France, in 1991. For 15 years he put on rodeo schools for indigenous and non-indigenous children in his home community on the Northern Cheyenne reservation with PRCA Hall of Fame legends, including: Shawn Davis; Charlie Sampson; Bruce Ford; Donny Gay; and Gary Leffew. He competed as an old-style grass dancer often winning in both the professional rodeo and powwow arenas at the same time, including at Navajo Nation Fair; the Shoshone Bannock Festival; Crow Fair; and Oglala Fair. He is also a traditional storyteller and flute player and award-winning recording artist, including winning an Indian Summer Music Award and Native American Music Awards (NAMA) nominations. He served as culture and language advisor for the Hollywood A-List movie Hostiles. Chief Phillip Whiteman Jr. has been committed to giving back to Indigenous children and youth, including in his home community. He also offers trainings across North America through his organization Spirit Seeker Solution combining his lifetime of experience and his ancestral teachings to connect horse, human and spirit. <Back

< Back Lloyd M. Powless Lloyd M. Powless Oneida Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Lloyd Powless was born on February 9, 1940 on the Pine Ridge Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. His father was Merville Powless from the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. His mother, Adeline Powless, was a nurse from Minnesota of German heritage. Lloyd was athletically talented and he played high school football in Rock Island, Illinois. As a senior in 1956 he received Illinois All-State Football honors as a defensive linebacker. He was recruited to attend several NCAA Division 1 universities on a football scholarship. He accepted the Big 10’s Northwestern University’s offer. After the first year at Northwestern, he transferred to Augustana College at Rock Island, Illinois. At Augustana College, Lloyd became an outstanding middle-linebacker. He played three years for Augustana and received honors of All-Conference first team and “Little All-American” in 1963 as a middle linebacker. Years later Lloyd was inducted into the Augustana College Hall of Fame. At the end of his college football career in 1963, he was drafted into the National Football League (NFL) as the 17th draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams. He participated in three different training camps with the Los Angeles Rams, the Denver Broncos, and the San Diego Charger but did not go further. Lloyd Powless’ life after football included working one year for Standard Oil and John Deere Company for 25 years. He has a son and a daughter who are both college graduates. His wife, an Augustana College graduate, and he are retired and live in Florida. <Back

< Back Anthony M. Riley Anthony M. Riley Pueblo of Laguna Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Anthony M. Riley is an enrolled member of Pueblo of Laguna and Acting Chief, Division of Workforce Development (DWD) in the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Office of Indian Services (OIS). Riley received his Bachelor of Science in Technology Education from the North Carolina State University in 1996. Riley was a three-time NCAA Division I All American and seven-time Atlantic Coast Conference Champion in Track & Field and Cross Country. He is a proud father of three daughters and two sons. In 2003, Riley was selected to the Atlantic Coast Conference 50th Anniversary All Cross Country Team. He was recognized as an NCAA DI All American in 1993 in the Outdoor 1500m and Indoor 3000m. In 1992 he was an NCAA DI All American in Cross Country and placed 21st in the national cross country championship. From 1991 to 1996, Riley competed for North Carolina State University and was honored as the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Champion, and had a one-time Cross Country individual title, two Indoor Track (mile) individual titles, two Outdoor Track (1500m) individual titles, two Cross Country team titles and 1 Outdoor Track & Field team title. In 1990, Riley was named the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council’s Most Valuable Performer at the Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Cape Cod, MA. He was named the 800m, 1500m, 1600m medley and 1600m relay champion and team champion while at the Northfield Mount Hermon Prep Academy, Northfield, MA. In 1989, also at Northfield Mount Herman Prep Academy, he was named the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council’s Cross Country Individual Runner-Up and Team Champions. Riley had many accolades as a high school athlete at Santa Fe Indian School in Santa Fe, NM. From 1982 to 1989 he was the New Mexico High School Class AA State Champion in Track and Cross Country. He was a two-time champion in the 800m and 1600m, a member of the 1600m medley relay, and Cross-Country individual and team, and also a member of the basketball team. <Back

John Lyall Kwakwaka’wakw Induction Category: Year Inducted Builder 2024 <Back John Lyall is a proud husband and father of three daughters, is a Kwakwaka’wakw artist and an enthusiastic sportsperson. His Kwakwala name is Mupenkin of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation of Vancouver Island in BC. Lyall has been a lifelong rugby player, coach and now administrator, playing for the Velox Valhallians (Westshore), University of Victoria Vikes, Vancouver Island Crimson Tide and the Canadian Classics. He has been lucky to have played against and with some of Canada’s best. Lyall is currently the president of the Vancouver Island Rugby Union (2014 – present). Thunder Rugby was formed in 2013 under the direction of Lyall, Directors Phil Mack (Toquaht), Bobby Ross (Songhees), and Mark Bryant. Thunder Rugby’s goals are: To promote the game of rugby to Indigenous athletes and communities throughout Canada • To promote core values of rugby of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship; • To have Indigenous culture play a greater role in the development of rugby in Canada; and, • To identify potential high-performance Indigenous athletes that could one day represent BC and Canada. Rugby’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, and sportsmanship resonate with those of Indigenous communities; they are also traits that defined Lyall as a young man and player throughout his life, and now as coach and leader. Thunder Rugby has undertaken the responsibility of touring to California in August of 2022 and New Zealand in August 2023. These have been enormous and rewarding undertakings. Thunder Rugby used the “Four R’s of Indigenous Ways of Knowing” to guide us on our tours including: Respect to yourself and the Thunder program; Responsibility to your school, your community and your ancestors; Relationships and positive relationships with your coaches, your teammates, and your opposition; and finally, Resiliency: you need to find that well of inner strength to tour and play rugby, you have to be brave to play rugby, and that is what Thunder asked our youth to be. Lyall has been very fortunate to have the opportunity to play and lead in this great sport. For him, it has been a brotherhood for life; it is the embodiment of the Kwakwaka’wakw philosophy of “Num’way’ut, or We are All One”.

< 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

< Back Rebekah Howe Rebekah Howe Crow Creek Sioux Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2023 Rebekah (Bekah) Howe is Crow Creek Sioux. She plays competitive pétanque and has medaled at regional, national, and international events. Bekah started playing pétanque casually in 2012. She began competing regionally in 2014, and played her first national competition in 2015, bringing home a silver medal in the National Women’s Doubles category. In 2018 she won gold in the National Women’s Singles event and the National Mixed Doubles event. Her first international competition was in 2022, where she represented the U.S. at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama alongside her teammates Janice Bissonnette, Juanita Celix, and Chia Vang. In addition to the women’s team competition, Bekah participated in the precision shooting event where she took the silver medal, earning the first international medal for the United States in pétanque. Most recently, her women’s triples team of Gerda Jorgensen and Chia Vang qualified to represent the U.S. at the 2023 Pétanque World Championships in Thailand. Bekah believes in the power of sport to build community. She has served on the board of her local pétanque club since its inception, and encourages everyone to learn more about her favorite sport, pétanque, and come out and play. She lives in Port Townsend, WA with her husband Silas Holm, who also plays competitive pétanque, and her dog Lou. One of her favorite sport moments was winning the 2018 National Mixed Doubles with Silas. She hopes to play pétanque well into her old age, with her walker or wheelchair if necessary. Photo Credits: Carlos Chavez and Federation of Petanque USA <Back

< Back Leanne Sirup Leanne Sirup Inuit Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2022 Being of Inuit descent, Leanne Sirup’s history in the sport of swimming spans more than three decades; starting as a swimmer, and then transferring her skills to coaching and mentoring. As an athlete, Leanne raced to the podium in numerous championships provincially and nationally as well as competing for Team Canada internationally. During this period, Leanne also set numerous provincial and national records predominantly in the 800m freestyle, the 200m butterfly, and the 400m individual medley. In addition to her decorated career, Sirup came out of retirement and competed at the 1997 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) where she raced to a total of 8 medals and the distinction of the British Columbia (BC) Premier’s Athlete of the Year. As a coach, Sirup has been the head coach of Team BC since 2004. Leading her provincial swimmers in every NAIG since, including a swim team overall victory in NAIG 2017, Leanne has been honored with the Provincial Coach of the Year (2008) and the National Coaching Award for Indigenous Excellence in Sport as presented by the Aboriginal Sport Circle and the Coaches Association of Canada partnership (2008, 2021). Ms Sirup has also been selected by Swimming Natation Canada as a Select Coach for their High Performance Development program. Leanne is keen on giving back to the Sport that has given so much to her. She is proud to serve as a National Coaching Certification Program’s Learning Facilitator since 2012, sharing her knowledge and experience to further the development the sport of swimming. Locally, Leanne continually endeavors to create opportunities for the youth to learn about the sport of swimming to open the pathway for success in any branch of Aquatics. To positively affect those around her, just as her coaches and mentors have done so generously for her. Photo: Carrie Matheson <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