Alberta man named to NIAA Hall of Fame

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Pete Homer was set up on April 21. Asked to present the widow of his best friend, Alberta's John Fletcher, with a plaque commemorating Fletcher's elevation to the newly established National Indian Athletic Association Hall of Fame, Homer found himself to be the fourth name on what he had been told was a three person list.

NIAA President Ernie Stevens, Jr. was responsible for the subterfuge. Homer, the only living person to be so honored, was shocked and delighted.

"No, they didn't tell me they were going to do it,' he said, laughing. "I had no idea."

Homer had made the trip to Calgary from his Washington, D.C. home to help with the tournament and make the presentation to John Fletcher's wife, Mona Fletcher, and his sister Cindy Yellow Horn. After he handled that duty, Stevens announced that Homer was also going into the hall.

Two others were inducted: Marcus Bass, of the Winnebago reservation in Nebraska, and Cliff ThunderBull.

Fletcher and Homer, two of the NIAA's founders, discovered that basketball brought them together and allowed them to develop a life-long friendship.

"I met him on a basketball court in Los Angeles in 1963 or '64," Homer recalled. "We were playing in a 24-team national championship tournament. He was with the Seattle Thunderhawks. I was with the Los Angeles Jayhawks. We beat 'em barely, then. John stayed around for a while and we became good friends. He told me he was thinking of moving to L.A. and sure enough three months later, him and his family moved down."

The two men were on opposite sides when the first Canadian team competed in the NIAA tourney in 1974. After a surprisingly good showing by the Canadians-they led 47-46 at the half- the Phoenix Bucks pulled away and won by eight.

Homer remembers Fletcher as a standout athlete and a remarkable man.

"He was a tremendous man, an inspirational man," he told Windspeaker. "John worked for years for the Navaho Nation as the activities director for retarded kids. He did things with those kids that was just unbelievable, teaching them to fish and sports. I don't think anyone could have taught those kids what John did. He was patient and compassionate."

Both men were sitting around after a regional tournament in 1974 and listening to different teams argue about who was the best in the country.

"I said, 'Wait a minute. We've got to organize a sanctioned organization so we know who's the best," said Homer.

A few months later, Fletcher, Homer and others met in Reno, Nevada and formed the NIAA.

Homer's love of basketball started early. The son of a career minor league baseball player, he discovered his best sport was basketball and he played it well enough to become the first Native player to gain a scholarship to Arizona State University.

"What makes me sort of famous, if you know what I mean, is that I was the first Indian to go to ASU. That was in 1955. We didn't have another, in fact, until 20 years later," he said. "John and I talked a lot about the good things sports can bring to our people. He played football for Wyoming. We knew the good life of being an athlete on a college campus. They treat you like kings."

Now president and chief executive officer of the National Indian Business Association, Homer, who'll turn 65-years-old in a couple of months, recently added another championship to his collection, he played-yes you read that right-on the winning team in NIAA Over-40 national championship, held during the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"Everybody I tell, they say they can't believe it," he explained.

"I got in really good shape to play in the Over-50 in Santa Clara, Ca. and I decided to play in the Over-40. I play on experience now. I'm not as fast but I know a lot more about the game. It's all about trickery and faking to get an open shot and I've never had a hard time finding an open shot."

Homer praised Siksika for the job the community did in hosting this year's NIAA and revealed he's made a commitmnt to NIAA president Ernie Stevens, Jr. to stay involved with the organization for at least another couple of more years.

Indian basketball comes north to Canada

Paul Barnsley, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Calgary

If Ernie Stevens, Jr. has his way, you'll soon be seeing more Native players in the National Basketball Association and Women's National Basketball Association.

Stevens is already a very busy man. He is treasurer of the National Congress of American Indians (the United States' version of the Assembly of First Nations) and the chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association. He has just taken on the volunteer role of president and executive director of the National Indian Athletic Association (NIAA). He is no shrinking violet. If you're willing to listen, he's ready to talk and tell you at length and with enthusiasm about his love of the game and his hopes for the people who play it. He sees his job to be one of promoting Native players and making sure they get a chance to play at the highest level possible.

Based on the quality of the play in the NIAA's national championship tournament, hosted in Calgary by the Siksika Nation from April 17 to 21, there's absolutely no reason Stevens' dream shouldn't become a reality.

The games are played at a fast pace with lots of scoring and deadly accurate outside shooting. Canadian fans not yet completely caught in the almost religious fervor that Americans bring to their national winter sport got a taste of "Indian Ball" when the NIAA made its first appearance ever north of the 49th parallel, and the fans were clearly impressed.

Native players have already made their mark in the game. The two final games featured at least two former pros and a handful of NCAA Division 1 players. The 2001 men's champions, the Itausha Hawks of San Jose, Ca., featured Joe Hutt, a six-foot-five Hupa Indian who was a late cut of the NBA's Portland Trailblazers a few seasons back and later played professionally in Europe. It's a trbute to the calibre of the NIAA ball that Hutt wasn't even close to being the most impressive player in this year's final. Six-foot-two Blackfoot forward Allan Spoonhunter led the Hawk scorers. He benefited from the skilled playmaking of guard T.J Camel.

On the other side, Russ Archambault, a Dakota member of Iron Five, the men's finalists from Standing Rock, North Dakota, played for the Minnesota State Golden Gophers from 1996 to 1998. That team featured three future NBA players, including John Thomas of the Toronto Raptors. A lightning quick guard with an uncanny touch from three-point range, Archambault cooled off in the final after almost single-handedly taking the Iron Five past some tough competition in the preliminary games.

On the ladies' side, former WNBA player Rynaldie Becenti, a tiny guard with a magical shooting touch and the court presence of a seven-footer, led Team Arizona to their third straight NIAA title. The Arizona State University product played briefly for the WNBA Phoenix Mercury.

Aside from these high profile athletes, there were also many NCAA Division 1 players in the tourney. Stevens wants to see more players follow in their footsteps and beyond.

"Our goal is to recognize, highlight and develop our players," he said. "I want them to be successful in the game, but even more, I want them to be good people, educated people, role models."

He said Native players experience the same kind of stereotyping and discrimination that Native hockey players are subjected to in Canada.

"They don't really get a good look but that's why this organization has to promote and highlight our players," he said.

There's a down home feeling to the NIAA tourney. Stevens said it reflects a sense of community and brotherhood.

"It's that sense of inter-tribal, territorial competition," he said. "Everybody knows each other. Everybody loves each other and they love competing for bragging rights."