6 JANUARY 1, 2004
Smoke Signals
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World Headquarters The beautiful Nike World Headquarters Campus in Beaverton, Oregon, is where Native kids
from all over the United States got to spend a day touring the campus, practicing basketball and learning about Nike's story,
from ifs humble beginnings in Eugene, to its becoming the world biggest sneaker producer. Nike has increased it's
outreach to Native communies in recent years by hosting tournaments such as these and hiring Native liasions.
Nike continued from front page
Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and the Lummi Indian
School in Bellingham, Washington, also a Trib-ally-funded
high school, but not a boarding
school. Two others were invited but could not
make their schedules work.
Like more and more schools today, the travel
part of this event has to be shoe-horned into
small budgets, and the way this group of schools
has made this work is by scheduling it around
Christmas time when government funding is
available for the kids to go home anyway. "This
just adds an extra leg to the trip," said Chemawa
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Athletic Director Jerry Mack. And the host
school makes sleeping and eating accommoda
tions available.
"A lot of
our kids
have never
been out of
town," said
Sequoyah
Principal
G i n a
Stanley. "They were amazed at the airport that it
looked just like a mall. Some had never seen a
mountain before and
they're appreciative of the
opportunity."
Riverside's Sims said
the idea had been "talked
about for a long time" be
fore finally coming to-
I gether last year. And
Nike got involved because
Sims and Nike's Native
American Business Man
ager, Sam McCracken
(Red Bottom clan of
Assiniboine), had a mu
tual friend in Indian
golfer Notah Begay.
While Nike can't put
any money into the pro
gram because of the eth
ics of amateur sports,
McCracken saw a way "to
build relationships and
A-
14
Photos by Peta Tinda
give these schools from unique backgrounds ac
cess to the largest sports company in the world."
As a result, the kids got a day at Nike head
quarters. They practiced on one of Nike's famed
basketball courts and enjoyed a taco dinner.
Emcee of the dinner event was Indian person
ality Chance
Rush. They got
a Nike t-shirt.
They heard a
pep talk by
former Philadel
phia 76ers
trainer Kevin
Carroll, who now holds the title of "Katalyst" at
Nike. Carroll held out the possibility of a future
relationship with Nike to the young players.
"To realize one's destiny," said Carroll, "is a
person's only obligation."
For Jerrod Coriz, a shooting guard for the Riv
erside Indian School, Carroll "made me think
about what my future is."
He said he wanted to thank his coach because
"we're getting the opportunity for all this."
For Nike, this was one pail of a Nike Native
American program that includes a Native Ameri
can Network of Nike Employees, Native Ameri
can Diabetes Program and a partnership with
the Indian Health Service to promote healthy
lifestyles and healthy choices for American In
dian and Alaska Natives.
Standing at the entrance to Nike's world head
quarters in Beaverton, in front of the Steve
Prefontaine Hall, the John McEnroe Building
and the Alberto Salazar Building, Elizabeth
Guzman, Flandreau's center, said, "We look for
ward to (the tournament) as soon as the season
starts." B
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Nice Shot Native kids shoot some hoops at the Bo Jackson Sports and Fit
ness Center Gym.
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Players Native youth arrive at the Nike campus after journeying from all over the
country to attend the Native Basketball Tournament, now in it's second year.
JANUARY 1, 2004
Smoke Signals 7
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The Future Native kids mug for the camera at the evening banquet, held at the Torrey Pines room of the
Tiger Woods Conference Center.
Assiniboine Tribal Member Wants To Help Young Native Athletes
Nike's Native American Program Manager Sam McCracken works for the largest sports-related company
in the world and sees an opportunity for Native people to live a healthier lifestyle diabetes free.
By Peta Tinda
Sam McCracken has many goals, but first
and foremost, he wants to help Native ath
letes achieve their full potential.
He is in a unique position to do so as Man
ager of Native American Business for Nike,
one of the most powerful and influential com
panies in sports today. He develops relation
ships between the numerous Tribes he works
with and the executives at Nike, who have
demonstrated willingness to embrace the
many young athletes in Indian Country.
Like a lot of the young Natives he works
with, McCracken comes from a rural back
ground. He grew up on the Fort Peck Indian Reser
vation in Montana, where he worked at a
ranch. He drove a swather, moved cows and
picked rocks.
In the late seventies, his mother moved to
California, where he attended and graduated
from high school. Afterwards, he got a job
coaching high school basketball, and became
close friends with Tony Dorado, who also works
at Nike.
In June of 1997, McCracken re-connected
with Tony, who asked him to submit a resume.
Sam was hired and started working in the
shipping department, where he would receive
containers for warehousing and shipping.
In July of 1997, he was asked to meet with
Curt Mudd, Director of Nike's United States Hu
man Resources Department, about revitalizing
Nike's Native American Employee Network.
Then in July of 2000, he assumed his cur
rent role of Manager of Native American Busi
ness. "It combines two very innovative programs,"
said McCracken. "First is the Diabetes Initia
tive Program, which provide Tribal Diabetes
programs access to Nike Products, to ship di
rectly to reservation or community health pro
grams at wholesale prices, to use as an incen
tive for Native Americans to pursue healthy
lifestyles and utilize the product.
"By coming to me they can have access to a
vast selection of Nike products at wholesale
prices through the Nike.net program," he said.
The second element of his job is as Native
liaison to the office of Indian Education Pro
grams, a government agency set up to sup
port the efforts of local Indian agencies Tribes
and other entities to meet the educational and
culturally related needs of Native Americans.
He also sits on the advisory committee for the
Boys and Girls Club of America where he acts
as Native representative.
McCracken travels all over the United States
encouraging Natives to get involved in sports and
pursue active, healthy lifestyles.
"I am the external face of Nike in Indian Coun
try," he said. "I am asked to be at a lot of Native
events. I'm proud to be a part of all of that."
He is involved with 65 different diabetes pre-
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Sam McCracken
vention programs Nationwide as well as 26 dif
ferent Tribal schools.
He also fulfills his traditional managers role
of making sure the user is extremely satisfied
with the service they are receiving.
He tries to spend only about two weeks in the
office each month.
"I think it is really important to be out in the
community so I can understand what's happen
ing, if they have a question about access. It
keeps me real. I want to be out there in Indian
Country... to be a true representative."
McCracken is motivated for several reasons,
not he least of which was losing his mother to
diabetes.
"She was my whole world... in 2002 she
went into a diabetic coma and died six days
later.
"And obviously meeting Notah Begay," said
McCracken. "His family has diabetes."
Begay, who was sponsored by Nike, was the
only Native on the Professional Golfer's Asso
ciation tour last year and is a role
model for many young athletes.
"The numbers speak for them
selves," said McCracken. "12 percent
of Natives over the age of 18 have
type-two diabetes. The amputation
rate is three fourths the rate for Na
tives as it is for non-Natives."
By encouraging Natives to get in
volved with sports, McCracken wants
to help lower those numbers.
"Basketball in particular is the
heartbeat of Indian Country. If I can
do anything to help kids, I will,
whether it's helping to open the door
for exposure to the right college
coaches or if they need to get in front
of the management," he said.
McCracken says that he always re
fers back to his coaching background
for guidance and inspiration.
"Seeing the impact on kids lives is
a gratification that I can't put into
words."
He says he feels proud that Nike
has embraced Indian country.
"They do great work. I feel very
proud to be a Native here and to lay
the groundwork."
He is also working with the Con
federated Tribes of Grand Ronde to organize
activities for youth to participate in.
"...So stay tuned and we'll see what hap
pens," he said.
He encourages other Natives to look at Nike
for employment.
"If I can do it, then they can do it. I mean, I
didn't get here through the traditional path.
I feel fortunate that the creator chose me. I'm
here to do the right thing and I'm very pas
sionate about that." B