BUY THIS ISSUE
Hoop Dreams

On Indian reservations across America, hoops rule, even when the court is dirt and the bent rim lacks a net. Nowadays, Indian youth have a chance to play in one of the NBA’s premier facilities, the US Airways Center in Phoenix, during the final rounds of the annual Native American Basketball Invitational. NABI was launched in 2003 when Mark West, vice president of Player Programs for the Phoenix Suns; GinaMarie Scarpa-Mabry of POD Productions; and the Phoenix Suns teamed up to host the first 24-team tournament.

Now 80 teams—boys and girls—from across the nation are preparing to gather once again in Phoenix for the 2008 tournament, being held July 21–26. The four boys’ and girls’ finalists will face off on the morning of Saturday, July 26, followed by the playoff for the third-place finishers. The girls’ championship game will begin at 5 p.m. and the boys’ at 6:30 p.m. Performing during the half-time shows will be Larry Yazzie and the Native Pride Dancers.

Last year, the first-place team in the girls’ division was 4 Love of the Game from South Dakota; the boys’ division was topped by the Cheyenne Arapaho team from Oklahoma.

In spring 2007, NABI became the first Native-oriented basketball tournament to receive coveted NCAA certification. This means coaches and scouts from Division 1 and 2 universities may attend the games, which should lead to basketball scholarships for Native student athletes. “Future NCAA tournaments will feature standout Native alumni from NABI tournaments who will get to compete at the college level while receiving a quality education,” noted West.

These same players might then move on to professional careers. In fact, one previous NABI player, six-foot, seven-inch forward Anthony Brown (Cheyenne Arapaho), was drafted into the European League in 2007, playing for Team Badajoz of Spain. Brown received the NABI tournament MVP award in 2003 while playing for the Cheyenne Arapaho team from Concho, Oklahoma.

NABI also helps Native student athletes attain a quality education by awarding annual scholarships. Scholarship funds are raised from the tournament and its sponsors, including Nike, Verve (the sports drink), the University of Phoenix and a handful of Indian tribes.

Elsewhere

Get to the second annual Monument Valley Film Festival, July 4–6, Monument Valley High School Auditorium, Kayenta, AZ, organized by Shonie and Andee De La Rosa of Sheephead Films, makers of the edgy Mile Post 398. On view will be works written, produced or directed by Native filmmakers. On July 4, the town also hosts a large Indian rodeo and powwow. Film admission is free. 928/429-0671 or monumentvalleyfilmfest.com

Spend the day at the 20th annual Native American Festival & Basketmakers Market, July 5, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME. The largest gathering of Native American artists, especially basketmakers, in New England also includes beadwork, root clubs, birchbark goods, dolls and jewelry, as well as storytelling, drumming, dancing, singing, arts demonstrations and Native foods. Organized by the Abbe Museum. Free. 207/288-3519 or abbemuseum.org

Retreat to the Native American Arts Festival, July 6–11, Idyllwild Arts, Idyllwild, CA, which includes excellent art workshops led by Indian artists in Cahuilla basketry, Hopi pottery, Oaxacan carving, and Navajo weaving, inlay jewelry and flutemaking. Enjoy lectures and presentations from Native and non-Native scholars, films, Native food tastings and live performances—this year featuring the one-woman play The Red Road, starring Arigon Starr (Kickapoo). 952/659-2171 or idyllwildarts.org

Check out the 59th annual Choctaw Indian Fair, July 9–12, Choctaw, MS, a huge event that includes exhibit halls, a midway, cultural demonstrations, social dances, a princess pageant, sales of arts and crafts (particularly cane baskets, beadwork and wood carvings) and the World Series of Stickball—called “the oldest field sport in America.” Major musical acts this year include Medicine Dream and Randy Travis on Aug. 14. Games are played nightly after 10 p.m. 601/650-7450 or choctawindianfair.com

Hit the trail to the 5th annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, July 12–13, with exhibition and sale of works by more than 100 outstanding artists selected from 39 nations around the world. The featured artist this year is Djarga Mira, a Tibetan weaver. Also presenting are Alina Itucama of Panama, who produces rainforest baskets, tagua nut carvings and cocobolo wood carvings; Peruvian weaver and embroidery artisan Anacecelia Rojas Soria; and Bolivian fiber-bag artisan Ines Hinojosa. The gathering kicks off with a free concert outdoors on the Santa Fe Plaza on Friday afternoon, then moves up to Museum Hill for a welcome preview and benefit from 6 to 8 p.m. 505/476-1166 or folkartmarket.org

Slip off to Suvoyuki Days, July 13, Sipaulovi Village Community Building, Second Mesa, Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, with a day-long sale of outstanding work by some 20 artists, village walking tours, traditional breakfast and lunch, lectures and a footrace at 6 a.m. Tours, lectures and food require modest fees. The preceding day, nearby Homolovi State Park hosts a parallel Hopi celebration. 928/737-5426 or e-mail shvt@hopitelecom.net

Trek north to the 47th annual World Eskimo-Indian Olympic Games, July 16–19, Fairbanks, AK, which features athletes competing in more than 50 traditional endeavors, such as the fish-cutting competition, the greased-pole walk and the two-foot high kick. In the latter event, participants must kick a sealskin ball eight feet off the ground with both feet! Clothing contests, live music, dance and storytelling offer additional insight into Alaskan Native culture. Held in conjunction with Fairbanks’ annual Golden Days celebration. 800/327-5774 or explorefairbanks.com

Jog to the 2008 North American Indigenous Games, Aug. 3–10, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the continent’s largest gathering of American Indian athletes ages 13 to 19. They will compete in sports as diverse as archery, lacrosse and canoeing, as well as softball, baseball and soccer. cowichan2008.com

Get your kicks off Route 66 at the 87th annual Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial, Aug. 6–10, Red Rocks State Park near Gallup, NM. Dance events include contest powwow dancing and ceremonial dancing, with three special performances by Mexico’s famed Voladores. Other attractions are an all-Indian rodeo (including a junior division riding bucking sheep), an arts and crafts market and demonstrations, a juried fine arts show (with opening reception and sale Aug. 6, 6–10 p.m.), a queen pageant, Native foods and two non-motorized parades (on Thursday night and Saturday morning). 505/863-3896 or gallupceremonial.org

Shop at a trio of Santa Fe events featuring antique and ancient tribal arts: the seventh annual Historic Indian & World Tribal Arts Show, Aug. 15–17 (with evening preview reception Aug. 14 at $75 per person), De Vargas Center, hosted by Barry Cohen, 703/914-1268 or tribalantiqueshow.com; the 25th annual Antique Ethnographic Art Show, Aug. 16–17 (with evening preview reception Aug. 15 at $75 per person), Museo Cultural, hosted by Whitehawk, 505/992-8929 or whitehawkshows.com; and the Best of Santa Fe Auction, Aug. 16–17, La Fonda, hosted by Allard Auctions, 888/314-0343.

Jingle into Wacipi 08, Aug. 15–17, hosted by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (see p. 38). Events include a powwow with hundreds of dancers and a dozen drum groups, plus arts and crafts. On Aug. 14, the tribe will host a powwow exhibition in the Rotunda of the Mall of America, in Bloomington, MN. Grand entry and demonstration of dance styles at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. 952/445-8900 or shakopeedakota.org

Catch the Celebration of Spirit, Path of the Warrior, Aug. 20–23, Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, FL, an event to raise funds for and to coordinate placement of technology centers on Indian reservations. The event will include formal dinners, an awards ceremony, an Indian arts market, skateboarding demos and performance arts. Organized by the Native American Chamber of Commerce of Houston. 832/251-6367 or hopeharmony.org

BUY THIS ISSUE