Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

PHOENIX-After 10 years, 30 nominees and decades of discovery, the first National Native American Hall of Fame will induct 12 honorees in October.

Many of the inductees, such as Olympic star Jim Thorpe, astronaut John Herrington and Maria Tallchief, the first Native American to be a prima ballerina, are well known and have been lauded with awards and honors. 

But though they received well-deserved praise, James Parker Shield thought something was still missing. So Shield, a member of the Chippewa Tribe, dreamed of the hall for a decade and is now the chief executive of the Native American Hall of Fame. 

"Like all halls of fame, it calls attention to certain kinds of extraordinary people who provide role models and opportunities to think about the world in which those folks lived and acted," said Phil Deloria, the first tenured Harvard professor of Native American history and the son of author Vine Deloria, one of the inductees. "It starts conversations, it establishes aspiration." 

Shield said he pushed to make the hall as inclusive as possible. That started with a voting process in May encouraging Native Americans to weigh in on who, among 30 people nominated by the hall's board, should make the finals.

"We didn't want an overrepresentation of any one particular tribe," said Shield, who wanted to avoid a "popularity contest."

He and board members chose the inaugural group based on leadership, legacy, mentorship and sacrifice. The honorees represent 10 tribes in 8 categories, such as science, athletics and advocacy. Six are women. 

Although the ceremony will be held at Indian Steele Park, the Native American Hall of Fame is currently housed online while Shield raises funds for a brick-and-mortar building.

Ryneldi Becenti, who was born and raised in Fort Defiance, was nominated for the Hall of Fame as the first Native American woman to play in the WNBA. She played as a free agent for the Phoenix Mercury from 1997-98. 

Becenti said humility is a characteristic of the Native American people. She said her mentors and teammates deserved credit, and the award brings honor to inductees' tribal nations. 

The Hall of Fame inductees include:

Lionel Bordeaux, Sicangu Lakota

Bordeaux is one of the longest-serving university presidents in America, serving more than four decades as head of Sinte Gleska University in South Dakota.

Elouise Cobell, Montana, Blackfeet

Cobell acted as the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the U.S. government for its mismanagement of Native American trust funds.

Vine Deloria, Jr., South Dakota, Standing Rock Sioux

Deloria wrote, Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto, credited as the first popular-culture novel to bring Native American oppression to the American public.

Ladonna Harris, Oklahoma, Comanche

Harris is the president of Americans for Indian Oppor-tunity, a nonprofit focused on furthering the rights of indigenous people.

John Herrington, Oklahoma, Chickasaw

Herrington is the first Native American man to get to space, as an astronaut for NASA.

Allan Houser, Oklahoma, Apache

Houser is considered one of the greatest Modernist sculptors of the 20th century.

Wilma Mankiller, Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation

Mankiller was the first woman to serve as chief of the Cherokee Nation.

Billy Mills, South Dakota, Oglala Lakota

In 1964, Mills won an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meter run. He was the first person from the Western Hemisphere to do so.

N. Scott Momaday, Oklahoma, Kiowa

Momaday won a Pulitzer award for his book, House Made of Dawn. This book is considered the beginning of the Native American Renaissance.

Lori Piestewa, Arizona, Hopi

Diego M. Radzinschi

Elouise Cobell, Montana, Blackfeet

Piestewa died in March 2003, making her the first woman to die in the Iraq War and the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military.

Maria Tallchief, Oklahoma, Osage

Tallchief was the first Native American to attain the title "prima ballerina" (see more about Tallchief on p.14)

Jim, Thorpe, Oklahoma, Sac and Fox Nation

In 1912, Thorpe became the first Native American to win Olympic gold medals.

Note: This article is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University Cronkite News cronkitenews.azpbs.org