How My Father's Haskell Stories Inspired My Football Years

I loved to play football! I moved from McNary, Oregon to Walla Walla, Washington, in 1956. I tried out for football when I arrived at Grade 7, Pioneer Jr. High. Tackle Football was totally new to me! I was back and forth on the 2nd and 3rd string until the end of my 7th Grade season. Never played in a regular game in the 7th Grade season.

After the regular season was over, there was a final scrimmage game between the Ist String and the 2nd and 3rd String. The night before the final scrimmage my beloved father told me the stories of the individual players of the Haskell Indian School that he attended and how the Haskell Indians played against Kansas State University and beat the best High School Football Team in Kansas.

My father showed me the newspaper clippings of these games. In the Kansas High School Championships, Haskell won decisively. Thier opponents were held to a -13 yards.

My father got me so inspired that the next day I went berserk in the Scrimmage Game! I hit anything that moved on the first string. That day, through the inspiration of my father and his classmates at Haskell, I went from the 3rd String to the Captain of my 8th and 9th Grade Pioneer Jr. High School Football Teams and eventually I was voted the Most Inspirational Player of my Blue Devils High School Football Team by my teammates!

From one day to the other, I was physically the same. My physical, emotional,, mental and spiritual transformation came from the inspiration of my beloved father and our Ancestors!

I was not very big, but I would hit any opponent that moved, in practice or in a game. My teammates said that they did not like to practice with me! At that time in my life, I had only one speed, high and higher! To be honest, at the time, due to intergenerational trauma, I loved to hurt my opponents. If they hurt me in the process, that was OK, too. With what I know now, I would like to go back and replay those six years of Jr. and Sr. High School Football!

But we all know the only way to change the past is changing the perspective on how we see it!

Black-and-white photo of a young football player in a leather helmet and striped jersey, crouched with hands on knees beside a tree.

Black-and-white photo of a smiling young football player wearing jersey number 22, running across the grass with a football tucked under his arm.

Black-and-white photo of a high school football team posed outdoors, seven linemen crouched in stance with helmets on the ground before them and four backs standing behind.