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< Back Alexis Desjarlait Alexis Desjarlait Red Lake Band of Ojibwe Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2023 Alexis Desjarlait has been involved with athletics since she could remember. She was on the Bemidji Bombers traveling team from 3rd grade until 5th grade then attending her first year of AAU basketball. In between that time frame, she was on the Bemidji Blaze fastpitch team as well. Desjarlait played volleyball, basketball and softball for six years at a varsity level and carried that three-sport athletics at Hibbing Community College (HCC). The 2018 high school graduate scored 2,190 points for Red Lake to rank second in program history and also had a total of 995 rebounds. The Warriors had a 129-25 record during her career and headlined the programs first-ever run to the state tournament in 2017. The success carried over with her 44-13 record at HCC. In two seasons as a Cardinal, Desjarlait scored a school-record 1,057 points and grabbed 512 rebounds. She was the All-Region XIII MVP and an NJCAA Division III All-American honorable mention selection in 2019-20. Desjarlait also earned spots on the Minnesota College Athletic Conference’s All-Northern Division First Team and All-State First Team in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns, and she cracked the MCAC All-Defensive Team during the 2020 season. In 2018-19, she led the Cardinals to their first-ever national tournament appearance. Desjarlait was also awarded Region XIII MVP 2020. She is now a junior at NCAA Division III Concordia University Chicago. <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

IIJL WORLD U16 LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP (WU16LC) Team 2026 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back IIJL WORLD U16 LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP (WU16LC) Induction Category: Team Year Inducted 2026 2022 Gold Medal: Haudenosaunee Kaidyn (Honrahdagwaisro's) Lickers-Henry, Kariwanoro Squire, Katinóntie Bear Martin, Moagi Buffalo, Parker Booth, Parker Thompson, Ryker Powless, Stone Mcgregor, Tehohonwáthe Bomberry, Thunder Hallett, Trelin Warrior, Tristan Garlow, Warren Cook, Darris Jones, Chace Cogan, Chaz Norton, Kobe Sanden, Chaz Hill, Ethan Steeprock, Alex Delormier President: Gewas Schindler General Manager: Sakoneseriiosta Maracle Assistant Manager: Cam Hill Head Coach: Rich Kilgour Assistant Coach: Ron Cogan Assistant Coach: Al Jones

Jacqueline Lavallee <Back Metis Induction Category: Year Inducted Coach/Athlete 2024 Jacqueline Lavallee has been an assistant coach with the Huskie women’s basketball program for the past 20 seasons. In that time, the Huskies have won two CIS National Championships (2016 and 2020), and eight Canada West titles, (2022, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2011, 2006), and have qualified for the CIS Championship eleven of the last thirteen seasons. Lavallee is a former member of the Huskie women’s basketball and soccer teams, playing from 1996-2002. She won the Sylvia Sweeney Award and was a Canada West All-Star in basketball and soccer and a CIS All-Canadian in basketball and soccer. She has been inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame, the University of Saskatchewan Athletic Wall of Fame, the Holy Cross High School Wall of Honor, and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. Lavallee represented Canada at two World University Games including one in 1999 in China and in 2001 in Spain and was a part of national team programming from 1999-2004. After playing a season of professional basketball in Marburg, Germany, Lavallee decided to come back to Canada to start her career in teaching and coaching. Besides coaching at the university level, she was also the head coach of the Cadet women’s National team that qualified for the first ever under-17 World Championships in France in the summer of 2010. Lavallee was not just an athlete as she was recognized for her academics as the CIS Top 8 All-Academic in 2002 which made her the first athlete from Huskie athletics to receive this honour. Jacqueline was also recognized as the Regional Recipient of the Tom Longboat Award as an athlete in 2000 and then became the National Recipient of the Tom Longboat Award for coaching in 2008. Lavallee’s accomplishments along with her community involvement afforded her another honour of being named the 2010 Olympic Torchbearer and Cauldron Lighter for the city of Saskatoon.

< Back Mary Killman Bancroft Mary Killman Bancroft Citizen Potawatomi Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Mary Killman Bancroft was born in Ada, Oklahoma, though she has always claimed Texas as her home. She is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN) and represented the United States of America at the 2012 London Olympic Games in Synchronized Swimming as the youngest athlete to qualify. She was inducted into the USA Synchro Hall of Fame in 2020, holds four Athlete of the Year Titles, and earned an impressive 36 medals during her 15 year career. Killman Bancroft is very proud of her heritage, shown in her first solo synchronized swimming competition in 2003, Bancroft’s (then Killman) routine was set to North American flute music and she wore a decoration of the CPN seal on her hip. Her identity is not only to the Potawatomi tribe, but also to Native American people in general; her father’s side of the family is Potawatomi and her mother’s side is Choctaw. She feels that her heritage has instilled a strong will. After all, Killman Bancroft made her name known in a sport where the required elegance and good timing in the pool is forged by a grueling training regime of up to 60 hours per week. Killman Bancroft still enjoys giving back to the sport that made her who she is today by doing camps, as well as consulting with the National Team when needed. <Back

< Back Brandon Montour Brandon Montour Mohawk Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Brandon Montour's NHL career reached new heights after he was traded to the Florida Panthers by the Buffalo Sabres on April 10, 2021, for a third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He had 37 points and an NHL-best 73 his first two seasons with the Panthers, respectively, and finished the 2023 Eastern Conference First Round with five goals, the most by a defenseman in a single series since Ed Jovanovski for the Vancouver Canucks in the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals. He opened the scoring in Game 7 and tied it with one minute left in the third period to help the Panthers defeat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in overtime. Montour scored eight goals in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs to lead defensemen. He became the ninth at the position to score at least that many in a single playoff year, with Brian Leetch (11 for the New York Rangers in 1994), Victor Hedman (10 for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020) and Cale Makar (eight for the Colorado Avalanche in 2022) the only ones with as many since the beginning of the 1990s. He became the second Stanley Cup winner of Indigenous descent in as many years, following Zach Whitecloud for the 2022-23 Vegas Golden Knights, when he helped the Panthers defeat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. That earned him a seven-year, $50 million contract (average annual value of $7.14 million) he signed with the Seattle Kraken on July 1, 2024. Montour's goal four seconds into overtime to give the Kraken a 5-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Climate Pledge Arena on March 12, 2025, matched the NHL record for the fastest goal to start any period, previously accomplished by Montreal's Claude Provost (Nov. 9, 1957), Denis Savard of the Chicago Blackhawks (Jan. 12, 1986) and James van Riemsdyk of the Toronto Maple Leafs (March 28, 2014). The Anaheim Ducks selected Montour, an offensive-minded defenseman, in the second round (No. 55) of the 2014 NHL Draft after he had 62 points (14 goals, 48 assists) in 60 games with Waterloo of the United States Hockey League. NOTES & TRANSACTIONS • USHL First All-Star Team (2014) • USHL Player of the Year (2014) • Hockey East All-Rookie Team (2015) • AHL All-Rookie Team (2016) • AHL First All-Star Team (2016) Full Seattle Kraken Bio: https://www.nhl.com/kraken/player/brandon-montour-8477986 <Back

Gerald “Jerry” Tuckwin <Back Prairie Band Potawatomi Induction Category: Year Inducted Coach 2023 For over 30 years, Jerry Tuckwin coached and taught Native Americans at Haskell Institute, Haskell Indian Junior College and Haskell Indian Nations University. Tuckwin also attended Haskell and graduated from Haskell Institute in 1960 with his high school diploma where he was very active in sports. He was fortunate enough to receive a track and field scholarship from the University of Wichita (later Wichita State University) where he earned his baccalaureate degree in 1964. He returned to Haskell in 1965 to coach junior college basketball and assist in track and field. The following summer he was drafted but elected to serve four years in the United States Air Force. He is a Viet Nam veteran. In addition to this military obligation, Tuckwin completed his Master’s degree at the University of Arizona. During this time, Jerry married college sweetheart, Terry Maupin. Upon his discharge from the Air Force, he returned to Haskell to resume his coaching responsibilities which lasted until 2001. It was during this tenure that he coached Native students who earned All-American honors 30 different times. He learned very quickly that the runners had the talents to succeed. All he needed to do was give them the workouts, nurture their self-confidence, but mainly help in the development of their self-esteem. “He believes his success can be attributed to his ability to bring out their self-worth; they had the talent”. Upon his retirement in 2001 from his educational duties and coaching responsibilities, Tuckwin pursued employment with his tribe, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation where he served as the Chairman of the Potawatomi Entertainment Corporation Board in the casino industry. During this semi-retirement era, Coach Tuckwin also garnered awards from Nike Corporation for his success with Native runners, the Seminole Nation of Florida, the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame, Outstanding Alumnus from Haskell Indian Nations University, and the first Inductee to the Kansas City Chiefs as a result of his work and contributions to Indigenous youth. Tuckwin has two children (John and Shannon, whom is deceased), five grandchildren and one great grandson. All are alumni of Haskell with the exception of his great grandson. Tuckwin continues to be active with the Haskell Foundation, his work with the Haskell Tekakwitha Catholic Center and the Haskell Alumni Association.

< Back Joy SpearChief-Morris Joy SpearChief-Morris Blackfoot (Kanai) Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2022 Joy is an Indigenous Black Canadian writer, advocate, and athlete. She is a proud member of the Kainai Blood Tribe and grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta. Joy is a retired 100m hurdler in athletics, three-time Canadian National Championship finalist and two-time Team Canada member. As a member of Team Canada, she is a 2014 North American Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) U23 silver medalist and a fifth place finisher at the 2019 FISU World Universidad. She has sat on the AthletesCAN Board of Directors and Athletics Canada’s Athletes Council, and now sits on the AthletesCAN Diversity and Equity Advisory Committee. Joy has achieved several notable accolades. Most notably, she was the 2016 and 2017 OUA Female Track MVP, 2017 USports Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner, 2017 Tom Longboat Award winner and the featured cover athlete for the 2019 May/June issue of Canadian Running Magazine. Joy has a Bachelor’s degree in History and First Nations Studies and a Master’s degree in Political Science specializing in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction from Western University. Joy is now pursuing a career as a journalist, having bylines in The Globe and Mail and CBC Sports. She is currently in the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University. <Back

< Back Ross Anderson Ross Anderson Cheyenne and Arapaho Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2023 How did an adopted, full blooded Native American son become one of the most successful speed skiers in the world? The Native American alpine speed skier and racer with the fastest time in the Western Hemisphere did it through hard work, desire, perseverance and a ton of ability. Growing up in the mountains of Durango, CO Ross Anderson has held the record for the fastest American ever on skis. His 154.06 miles per hour (247.930KPH) was achieved in 2006. Born in New Mexico, Ross was adopted into an Anglo-American family. At three years old, Ross began learning the winter sport that put him into the history books. He was a six time national champion, and a member of the US Speed Skiing Team. Ross’ rise was a solitary one as the only competitor of color on this intensely competitive circuit. Not only did Ross set records becoming one of the top competitors in the world, including number two in 20O1 and number three in 2005, but he also understood the need to give back to this sport and all the youngsters who consider Ross their role model. The desire to give back is understandable considering that no Native American has ever come close to achieving the international stature that Ross has consistently earned while setting the highest standards in a remarkable career. In 2022 Ross was the featured athlete in a national television commercial produced by the New Mexico Travel Bureau that was released November 1, 2022. His unparalleled accomplishments continue to radiate hope for literally thousands of inspired youths, especially those of color who see that their dreams of standing atop a podium one day truly can come true. <Back

John Alexander Hunter Muscogee Creek Induction Category: Year Inducted Builder 2024 <Back John Alexander Hunter is a Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska descendant and White Earth Nation descendant living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. He is a Muscogee Creek Nation citizen through his paternal grandmother’s (Alexander) family. Encouraged and supported by parents and family, Hunter took great interests in most sports in his home community of St. Paul, Minnesota. He earned the Dave Winfield Scholarship Award for athletic, scholarly, and service achievement in high school. With little more than the encouragement of a literature teacher, John started the first ever organized lacrosse team for his high school in 1994, which went on the state championship its first two years of play. Many of the players had been looked over for the school's most popular sports of baseball and hockey. Lacrosse quickly became popular as many of these student athletes were without an outlet for competitive team athletics. This was an exciting time to organize lacrosse, since there were only 8 teams in the inaugural statewide league, and interest was growing rapidly. Hunter took his lacrosse skills to Stanford University, he played four years of lacrosse and earned team captain honors his senior year. Focusing on starting a family and career, John took a break from lacrosse organizing until 2014 when he co-founded the non-profit sports organization, Twin Cities Native Lacrosse. He was inspired by other local indigenous lacrosse groups such as the Lightning Sticks Society. Since its beginning, Twin Cities Native Lacrosse has helped inspire the rapid growth of the traditional lacrosse games throughout the western Great Lakes communities. The traditional lacrosse game had not been played on a large scale in the region for over 100 years. Facilitating games, hosting skills clinics, and promoting traditional stick-making arts was the core work of the group. Hunter used the network of schools and indigenous youth groups in the Twin Cities to place the Anishinaabe and Dakota ball games directly in front of hundreds of Indigenous youth. Many now teach the game themselves. In 2018, the success of the community work was honored with a Super Bowl Legacy Grant. In 2020, Hunter was selected as the Head Coach for the Minneapolis Boys’ High School Lacrosse team, and became one of the first indigenous lacrosse head coaches in the state’s history. Also in 2020, John became the founding board member for the international non-profit organization, Anishinaabe Baagaadowewin, with a mission to share Anishinaabe history and culture -- specifically about traditional ball games. Hunter helped Anishinabe Baagaadowewin complete the initial work towards the the formation of an Anishinaabe National team. In 2022, Hunter was the primary consultant to BBC Radio’s podcast about ‘Great Lakes’ traditional lacrosse, which was broadcast to millions of listeners worldwide.

< Back Natalie Nicholson Natalie Nicholson Arikara/Ojibwe Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2023 Natalie Nicholson, Arikara/Ojibwe, is the daughter of Bruce & Millicent Simenson. She is married to John and together they have two daughters Stella and Mya. Natalie is enrolled in The Three Affiliated Tribes and is from Bemidji, Minnesota. Natalie is a 2010 Winter Olympian in the sport of Curling, nine time USA National Curling Champion, two time Junior National Curling Champion, 2006 World Championship Silver Medalist, 2004 & 2007 World Championship Semi-finalist and has 10 time World Championship appearances. She was honored in 2009 as Female Athlete of the Year and Team of the Year in 1997 and 2004. Natalie practices Shotokan Karate and earned her Shodan Blackbelt in 2022. Natalie has her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing graduating in 2022 and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing in 2021. Natalie works as a Nurse Practitioner & Indigenous Lactation Counselor for Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming “Birthing Long Ago in Home, Lodge or Hospital”. Mewinzha provides Anishinaabe-led maternal child health and family wellness services by braiding both western and Native American traditional knowledge of health, wellness, and community into practice throughout the holistic health journey of our relatives. Natalie is honored to have the opportunity to be able to co-create our own maternal-child community health clinic: Gaa-giigishkaakaawasowaad “A Place Where Pregnant Women Gather”. <Back

< Back Miranda Stewart Hess Jr. Miranda Stewart Hess Jr. Paiute Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Miranda Stewart Hess Jr. is an enrolled tribal member of the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley. Along with being Paiute, Miranda is also Yaqui and Apache. Miranda is the only daughter in her family; she has four older brothers and three younger brothers. Miranda feels fortunate that she is from a big family that loves sports. Her father Brandon Hess and mother Miranda Stewart Hess Sr. were athletes and became coaches to her and her siblings; all seven of her brothers are also athletes. Miranda competes in sports year round and currently participates in wrestling, Brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing, kick boxing, muay thai and MMA. Miranda has been wrestling since age four and is a five time state wrestling champion; two time champion in South Dakota and three time champion in New Mexico. Miranda also earned the championship title in four national wrestling tournaments. Miranda received the coveted honor of New Mexico Youth Wrestler of the Year 2024 award, and finished her 2024 season undefeated. Miranda is very proud to have had articles written about her athletic accomplishments and was interviewed by the local news. During her segment Miranda was chosen to represent Women’s History Month and the fastest growing high school sport in the country which currently is women’s wrestling. Miranda is a huge promoter of girls joining wrestling and encourages everyone she can to try wrestling out. Miranda was a pioneer of the sport in her early career and was the only girl on her team from 2013-2017 in South Dakota. Girls wrestling was virtually unheard of when Miranda first started, so she mainly wrestled boys. Miranda continues to wrestle at the high school level and recently earned a spot on the V. Sue Cleveland varsity team as a freshman. Miranda’s goals are to be a four time state high school champion, wrestle for the University of Iowa, become an Olympic wrestler and join the UFC. <Back