Frank Gogola
Missoulian

The University of Montana men’s basketball team will debut its turquoise uniforms Saturday after featuring copper and gold in the past as well maroon and silver in recent decades.

This is the first year University of Montana is taking part in Nike’s N7 program, which is led by Sioux and Assiniboine tribal citizen Sam McCracken of Fort Peck and encourages Indigenous youth to participate in sports and recreational activities. Nike has partnered with several colleges over the years to create turquoise jerseys, a color which symbolize friendship, fellowship and more.

While warming up for the basketball game, UM will wear shirts featuring a Griz logo designed by UM alum Benji Headswift. His logo features four feathers, a tribal sign of achievement, representing the four college degrees someone can earn: associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate.

Headswift grew up in Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation as a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. After graduating high school in 1999, he served in the U.S. Army for three years. He returned to Montana and later became a Northern Cheyenne tribal council member.

Headswift, 41, was a non-traditional student who moved to Missoula in 2018 with his wife and four kids so he could attend UM. He graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Native American studies. He works at Missoula County Public Schools as a Native American specialist.

Headswift requested that a portion of the proceeds from sales of items featuring his logo be used to support UM’s Kyiyo Pow Wow, one of the oldest student-run powwows in the country. This is the first of three years through 2025 that UM will host N7 basketball games.

The Lady Griz played their N7 game last Saturday. 

Headswift sat down with 406mtsports.com to discuss the logo, his inspiration and his journey. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Meet Benji Headswift:

Q: How would you describe the experience of seeing the Lady Griz wear your logo, the turquoise uniforms and the halftime Indigenous event?

A: I was in complete amazement. Kind of like an awe moment. Disbelief that something I created was being promoted so highly. Having that feeling of being home, really, because a lot of us natives, we associate home with basketball. Seeing the logo in the crowd, on the court and pretty much everywhere, they even had it on the Jumbotron, and having my coworkers sending me pictures from where they were sitting, it really made that feeling wholesome.

Q: What has been your perception of the reaction to the logo since it debuted and how has it changed at all over the past month or so?

A: Immediately out the gate, people were amazed that the university stepped out and actually did something for the Native American community. It started to become, wow, this is more meaningful, this is more community oriented, this is more tribally connected. It swelled into almost a new sense of pride, a new sense of belonging, something that we’ve been wanting here in Montana. That makes me realize that the message got across.

Q: Would you like to see the logo you designed and the turquoise color uniforms be used in other sports at UM or do you like that it’s exclusive to basketball?

A: I’d like for it to be included in all sports. That gives us the feeling that we belong at the university as Native Americans, we’re wanted. To be included in all sports, that gives our community a chance to look at what the university has to offer outside of football, outside of basketball. That might promote a kid to come along and want to try out for those sports. It would create another path of receiving that pride, I believe.

Q: Where did your love of creating art come from and how did it grow over the years?

A: My mother was an artist. She did a lot of things in colored pencil. I would try to mimic what she was doing. I kind of lost the love in high school because I had an art teacher that didn’t like people’s creativity. But I stayed in touch with that with all the sketches I did, paintings here and there. When I got to the University of Montana and got into some of the art classes as electives, I really was able to expand my imagination and they really opened me up.

Q: Getting to design the logo, how would you place the significance of this opportunity in your larger life picture and successes you’ve had or challenges you’ve faced?

A: This is definitely one of those parts of my life, my timeline that my momentum is huge. It was bigger than I ever imagined, the achievement itself. The art itself was one thing, but when it starts to grow now with that pride and that sense of community, that sense of Montana growing now, that’s something that is unbelievable. I believe that’s probably one of the biggest moments of my life.

Q: Aside from the chance to design the logo, how has the move to Missoula altered life so far for you and your family, and are you glad you made it looking back?

A: The initial thought of leaving, it was scary, and then now, we’re starting to see the rewards of our hard work and our dedication to ourselves as a family. The product of that is my own personal success but my kids as well too. They’re flourishing and they’re doing great things within theirselves and they’re becoming known throughout the community for their athletic abilities. This is just enhancing that really. My wife, she’s back in college getting her degree in psychology. So, the move has been really generous with us with our success.

Q: Is there anything else I didn’t think to ask?

A: Ultimately, this design is bigger than my individual pride. It’s all nations that’s in Montana and the United States that ultimately this gives us that confidence that we need to embrace and move forward. There’s a lot of heartache right now going across the state because of basketball, because of racism and remarks are being said. I’m hoping that this gives our native community and our overall community in Montana the confidence and the encouragement that it needs to make those changes and allow every athlete to be themselves and enjoy the sport without those derogatory comments.

This article was first published in the Missoulian.