Smoke Signals
Nike's Indian Point Man Talks To Tribal Youth
Fort Peck Tribal member Sam McCracken presents some principles for success.
4 AUGUST 15, 2004
By Ron Karten and Jack Ham
Sam McCracken (Fort PeckSioux
and Assiniboine) Nike's Native
American Business Manager, wrote
his own ticket at Nike. He arrived
at the company to work in the
warehouse but the job could not
hold him. He wrote his own busi-
tives in the same way. He used the
acronym SMART as a starting
place. Objectives have to be spe
cific, measurable, achievable, re
sults oriented and time bound.
He told about growing up on a
ranch on a Reservation, about the
"I was very well impressed with his pre
sentation. I liked his focus on the kids
to walk in the paths of their dreams. "
Tribal Council member
Jack Giffen, Jr.
ness plan for serving the Native
American community. They liked
the idea. After three years pack
ing boxes, he said, he is now the
only Native American Business
Manager among the entire corps of
Fortune 500 companies. And at the
end of July, he shared his secrets
with about 25 Grand Ronde Tribal
youth.
"All of you have a gift," he said.
"All you need is a dream."
He passed out rubber DREAM
wrist bands to the group. Each let
ter has a dif
ferent mes
sage: dedi
cation, re
sponsibility, education,
attitude and
motivation.
"I'm going to create the path for
you," said McCracken, "but if you
don't have the vision and the
dream, it won't happen."
"I thought it was cool that this
guy came out of his busy schedule
to talk to us," said Tribal youth Josh
Wilson.
McCracken talked about objec-
influence his Uncle Joe had on him,
about his mother who died of dia
betes and finally about life in cor
porate America. "I left the Reser
vation to work in the white man's
world when I was 19," he said.
And today, he bridges the two
worlds, putting Native America on
Nike's radar, and keeping Nike's
name, products and goodwill in
Native communities. To date, he
has made the connection with Tribal
communities throughout America.
Tribal youth Cristina Lara said,
I; j
Dreamers Sam McCracken, (right) Native American Business Manager for
Nike, shakes hands with Tribal Council member Jack Giffen, Jr. while Tribal
Mentorship Program coordinator Denise Ripley watches. McCracken was in Grand
Ronde to speak with Tribal members about the importance of following oneb dreams.
incentives like the wrist bands,
Nike leverages its prestige and in
fluence to make diabetes programs
stronger on
reservations.
Currently,
McCracken
has helped
initiate and
"I left the Reservation to work in the white
man's world when I was 19."
Sam McCracken
"It was very touching, inspira
tional." "I was inspired," said Tribal
youth Hope Lafferty. "We defi
nitely need more (like him)."
"He inspired me to play football,"
said Tribal youth Travis Trambell.
Through McCracken, Native
sports teams get outfitted with Nike
gear at special prices; and using
1 ' " 'tw 1 1
I j, v'y .
or strengthen
79 Tribal dia
betes pro
grams, in
cluding the
one in Grand
Ronde.
"I was very interested because I
play sports," said Tribal youth
Maria Ramirez, who also had an
other touchstone for the talk. "He
talked about helping other people
with diabetes," she said. "My other
foster parent
was diabetic
and it was
very hard to
watch her
take her medi
cine. She al
most died."
"I was very
well impressed
with his pre
sentation," said Tribal
Council mem
ber Jack
Giffen, Jr.
who stopped
in for the pre
sentation at
the Tribal
Education Division. "I liked his fo
cus on the kids to walk in the
paths of their dreams."
Nike Among Corporate Sponsors To Raise Money To Fight Cancer
Yellow, 'Live Strong' wristbands to raise $5 million for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
By Ron Karten
Four years ago, Nike was encour
aging the country to wear yellow
in support of bicyclist Lance
Armstrong's bid for a second Tour
de France victory. Today,
Armstrong is still riding and still at
the top of his game as he won an
unprecedented sixth victory at the
French classic at the end of July,
but Nike has something different
in mind this year.
The company is among a host of
corporate sponsors encouraging
Armstrong fans and cancer fight
ers across the country to purchase
and wear a special yellow wristband
engraved with the Armstrong man
tra, 'Live Strong,' as a way to help
raise $5 million for the Lance
Armstrong Foundation (LAF), dedi
cated to fighting cancer.
The leader on each leg of the Tour
de France traditionally wears a yel
low jersey. Armstrong has been
among that elite group in each of the
most recent six races, including of
0
course the 2004 race just completed.
Armstrong also is one of the
world's most famous cancer survi
vors, and that is the reason for the
Lance Armstrong
Foundation
(LAF), recipient
of a $1 million
grant from Nike
this year, and
hopefully, recipi
ent of $5 million
more raised
through the sale
of 'Live Strong'
wristbands,
which cost con
tributors $1 each.
"On a personal
level," said Sam
McCracken (Fort
PeckSioux and
Assiniboine) Nike's Native Ameri
can Business Manager, "I wear the
yellow band in memory of my uncle,
Joe Day (Fort Peck Sioux), who died
of stomach cancer. I wear it in
honor of him."
Presidential nominee, John
Kerry, as well as President Bush
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limn i
r ilVL..V -1
4r "V
Lance Armstrong
have also been spotted wearing the
wristbands. According to the Asso
ciated Press, celebrities such as
Bono, Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis,
Robin Williams, Matt Damon and
Ben Stiller are also showing their
support for the LAF.
Information on the Nike website
reports: "The Lance Armstrong Foun
dation believes that in your battle with
cancer, knowledge is power and atti
tude is everything. From the moment
of diagnosis we provide the practical
information and tools you need to live
strong. The LAF focuses its activities
on community survivorship pro
grams, national advocacy initiatives,
scientific and clinical research grants,
and survivorship education and re
sources, including Live Strong, the
LAFs comprehensive resource for can
cer survivors. The LAF was founded
in 1997 by cancer survivor and cham
pion cyclist Lance Armstrong and is
located in Austin, Texas.
For more information, visit
www.laf.org, www.livestrong.org
and www.wearyellow.com."
Wristbands can be purchased at
those websites.