Honoring Those That Came Before Us...
Excellent story on Hall of Fame Inductee, Philip Red Eagle:
* Philip Red Eagle Inducted into Indian Athletic Hall of Fame *
What a show! (December 14, 2009)
The power of this event keeps getting stronger and stronger. One thing that came up often was the need for identity and support for our athletes and Native youth. This is a great start. Our people are very humble and the Hall of Fame is here to recognize their accomplishments and efforts. Many people are shocked to hear the accomplishments of our inductees, something that has been unknown by many for far too long. We will be organizing this effort in the attempt to permanently place pictures, jerseys, and even videos into the MSUB location. We continue to gather records and statistics to be placed in a document for download. These success stories will be known and the communities and especially the youth, will understand the strength or their relatives and tribes.
| 2009 Induction Photos |
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Information from the December 11th, 2009 Event:
3rd Annual Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame Agenda
3rd Annual Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees & Information
November Update:
Well, we are ready for the 3rd Annual Montana Indian Hall of Fame Event! I apologize for the lack of communication - I have been dealing with some medical issues over the last half of the year. We are still moving right along. This years event will be at the same location as last year, MSUB Sub-Ballroom on the December 11th at 2pm in Billings, MT. I am currently working on the agenda with the schedule and nominations. It should be up by the end of this week. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I'll be seeing you soon! ~ Don Wetzel, Sr.
July Update:
We are zeroing in on a facility to host the MT Indian Athletic Hall of Fame permanently. What we will be needing for this are pictures & awards of the recent inductees in action to place in the facility. Jerseys, trophies, etc. will also be a possibility. We want these to be viewable to all, so they can understand these great athletes and their great stories!
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We will be traveling to visit the reservations and the Tribal Councils in the coming months. Nominations are already coming in and we are researching the nominees so far. We will be contacting existing Inductees to set up a schedule to videotape and record interviews, stories, etc. of the Inductee.
We want to eventually develop an Annual MT Indian Athletic HOF basketball tournament for the Natives of Montana, from youth to adults, we want to display today's talent and link them to the legends of the past.
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The hall of fame is the creation of Don Wetzel, Sr. a former Cut Bank and University of Montana standout and coach. It came out of a talk he had with his father about 10 years ago concerning the need to recognize Indian athletes.
The Hall of Fame will bring the past to the present, showing the youth and the native communities that we have our own legends among us and for those that have past, we will restore their memory and accomplishments.
This has never happened for the Native Athletes of our state and with so many great athletes and teams representing Indian Country, this is definitely necessary.
The Hall will recognize college and high school athletes, coaches and teams from all sports venues that have documented accomplishments. All-State, All-American, State Championships and MVPs. Record breakers and record holders that made their community proud during their amazing championship runs.
"I started looking at the '20s and '30s and found there were all-state teams and I never knew about those players and coaches," Wetzel said. "I felt the need to bring them out and recognize them. There were some that were just legends that will pop to the front."