While driving through Walker, Minnesota, countless drivers pass a bronze bust statue outside the courthouse not knowing it is there. It is Eddie Rogers.

Eddie Rogers was born in Libby, Minnesota on April 14, 1876, near the site of the 1850 Sandy Lake Tragedy. His father was a pioneer lumberman and mother was Ojibwe. His Ojibwe name was Ay-Nay-Way-We-Dung translated to Echo in the Woods.

Rogers attended Carlisle Institute in 1897, one of the first boarding schools that were determined to erase the ethnic identity of native students and assimilate them into American citizens.

Rogers began playing football at Carlisle and quickly rose to star athlete status and served as team captain in 1900.

In 1901 Rogers came home to Minnesota and enrolled in law school at the University of Minnesota. He joined the football team and was named captain in 1903. During the same season the Golden Gophers had an 11-0-1 record winning the Big Ten title and Rogers was named third- team All-America.

The next season Rogers returned to Carlisle as head coach and had a 9-2 record. He was there one season and again came home to Minnesota and in 1905 he coached the College of St. Thomas football team to a 14-9-1 record. In 1907 his team was undefeated at 7-0.

Rogers soon began his longtime law career. In 1910, he was elected Cass County attorney, a position he held for over 45 years. In 1912, he was elected as the chief of a council including 10 Ojibwe tribes.

He served as the vice president of the National Council of Indian Affairs and was a charter member of the National Congress of American Indians.

Rogers had a 62 year career in law retiring at age 90. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968 and in the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973.