Shirley Sneve
Indian Country Today
It wasn’t an ordinary student recruitment event at the University of South Dakota. It was the first Native American Heritage Day held at a basketball game–on the Ancestral Lands of the Oceti Sakowin (Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Tribes).
More than 100 Native students arrived from Pine Ridge, Todd County High School, Crow Creek, Lake Andes, Flandreau, and Vermillion. A large contingency from Ft. Yates, North Dakota arrived to cheer on Standing Rock Sioux Tribe citizen Mason Archambault in a victorious basketball game in late February against in Western Illinois. He scored 12 points, with a final score of 78-65.
Archambault was honored along with 10 other Native college athletes:
- Cliff Johnson, Yankton Sioux Tribe, football
- Jayda Knuppe, Meskwaki Nation and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, track and field
- Caelyn Valandra-Prue, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, track and field
- Maddison Sullivan, Oglala Sioux Tribe, soccer
- Morgan Sullivan, Oglala Sioux Tribe, soccer
- Aspen Williston, Choctaw, basketball
- Hannah Aitkin, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Swimming and Diving
- Isabel Fairbanks, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Swimming and Diving
- Stella Fairbanks, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Swimming and Diving
- Kristen Quigley, Metis Nation of the Rising Sun, Swimming and Diving
John Little, USD’s director of Native Recruitment and Alumni Relations, said 600 tickets were reserved for students, their families, and alumni. The day featured campus tours and an academic department fair.
“It’s been really awesome to just see a bunch of people come together and support Mason Archambault and honor the 11 Native athletes on campus,” Little said who is Standing Rock Dakota.
Director of Native Student Services Megan Red Shirt-Shaw, Oglala Lakota, helped organize the Eagle Voice Drum Group that is run by Native students at the university. The group sang an honoring song and the Dakota national anthem. Halftime featured a performance by student and alumni dancers.
With a total enrollment of 7,000 students at the university, there are 333 Native students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The university’s Native alumni dinner is set for April 1 and the annual Wacipi is set for April 2-3.
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