Category: Hopi Runners

Smithsonian to host exhibit on Native Olympic athletes

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi Runners, Hopi scholarship, Louis TewanimaLeave a comment

This Friday May 25, the Smithsonian will open an exhibit titled “Best in the World: Native Athletes in the Olympics.” The exhibit will feature Jim Thorpe, Duke Kahanamoku, Andrew Sockalexis, Billy Mills, and Hopi runner Louis Tewanima of Shungopavi on Second Mesa.

The Smithsonian has a nice write-up about the event on its website:

On the 100th anniversary of the Olympic Games in which athletes Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox), Duke Kahanamoku (Native Hawaiian), Andrew Sockalexis (Penobscot) and Lewis Tewanima (Hopi) represented the United States in Stockholm, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian presents “Best in the World: Native Athletes in the Olympics.” The exhibition opens Friday, May 25.

In 1912, Thorpe swept both the pentathlon and decathlon at the Olympic Games, becoming the first and only Olympian to accomplish such a feat and earning the accolades of King Gustav V of Sweden, who proclaimed Thorpe to be “the greatest athlete in the world.” Thorpe was joined that year by fellow Native teammates Kahanamoku, who won the 100-meter freestyle; Sockalexis, who placed fourth in the marathon; and Tewanima, who won the silver medal and set an American record for the 10,000 meters that stood for more than 50 years until Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota) won the gold medal in Tokyo in 1964.

Louis Tewanima competed in the 1908 (London) and 1912 (Stockholm) Olympic Games. For those who might be interested, I have written an article on Tewanima titled “Marathoner Louis Tewanima and the Continuity of Hopi Running, 1908-1912,” which will appear soon in the Western Historical Quarterly.

Upcoming lecture on Louis Tewanima at University of Notre Dame – Wed. April 11, 2012

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, Hopi authors, Hopi Runners, Hopi scholarshipLeave a comment

Arizona Republic highlights Louis Tewanima

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi Runners, Hopi scholarship, Louis TewanimaLeave a comment

At the end of January, I wrote a post about recent articles on Native runners. In this post, I mentioned that as the 2012 Olympic Games in London approaches, we should expect to see an increase in the number of articles being published on Native athletes, especially long distance runners.

With that in mind, I want to direct you to an article that Jeff Metcalfe published last week titled “Louis Tewanima was Arizona’s sports icon in 2012” in the Arizona Republic. Most of the material for Metcalfe’s article came from previously published sources, including Kate Buford’s Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe and Bill Crawford’s All American: The Rise and Fall of Jim Thorpe. 

I also wrote an article on Tewanima titled “Marathoner Louis Tewanima and the Continuity of Hopi Running, 1908-1912.” The essay is scheduled to appear in the August 2012 edition of the Western Historical Quarterly – the official journal of the Western History Association.

Recent articles feature indigenous runners

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi Runners1 Comment

I’ve noticed an increase in the number of articles being published on indigenous runners. Many, including a nice write-up in Indian Country Today,  center on Navajo runner Alvina Begay and her attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Although she did not make the U.S. team, she is a remarkable runner. Keep your eyes on Begay and Navajo runner Craig Curley, who also tried out for the Olympics, as we look to the future of indigenous running.

And take a few minutes to view this clip:

In the March 2012 edition of Runner’s World, Kenny Moore wrote a lengthy and insightful article on Oglala Lakota runner Billy Mills. Mills ran cross-country for Haskell Institute (now Haskell Indian Nations University) and the University of Kansas. But he is best known for winning a gold medal in the 10,000 meter race at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Check out the following video:

At the Olympics, Mills also broke Hopi Olympic runner Louis Tewanima’s long standing U.S. record in the same event. Records are meant to be broken (you have to break one to make one). And who better to break Tewanima’s record than another indigenous runner?

Also,  Indian Country Today recently ran a short story about a documentary film titled Racing the Rez. The film is about Hopi and Navajo cross-country runners who competed for Tuba City High School in Tuba City, Arizona. It is scheduled to be released this Fall.

Although I don’t know much about the film or its producer (Brian Truglio), it looks very promising.

Here is the trailer:

As the 2012 Olympic Games in London approaches, expect to see more articles on Native athletes, especially long distance runners.

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

14th Annual Rattlesnake Master 5K and 10K Run

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi Runners2 Comments

Over the past few weeks I have been lecturing in my courses on Hopi long distance runners.  At some point in the semester, I threw out the idea to my students that if they ran the Rattlesnake Master 10K (Urbana, IL) with me on November 6, I would give them 10 points of “extra credit.”

At most, I thought 1 or 2 students would agree to this proposal. Boy was I surprised when 18 students showed up on the day of the race!

Kudos to my students for waking up early on a Sunday morning, spending their money on race entry fees, and bracing the wind and cold. They made their professor proud.

Some ran the 10K race, while others opted for the 5K event. We had a great time, and today I made good on my promise and gave them each 10 well-deserved points of extra credit.

A presentation on Hopi runners

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, Hopi Runners, Hopi scholarship2 Comments

On Friday November 4 at 12:00 noon at the University of Illinois Native American House, I will give a presentation titled “Hopi Runners and the American Sport Republic, 1908-1912.” The lecture will focus on Hopi runners, Louis Tewanima and Washington Talayamtewa (Talyumptewa), who competed for the Carlisle Indian Industrial School track team between 1908 and 1912. Both runners were from the village of Shungopavi on Second Mesa. The event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided. Click here for additional information.

Trails kept open at the Oraivi Footrace

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi Runners1 Comment
Oraivi Footrace (2009), Photograph by Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

This Saturday August 6, Hopi runner Juwan Nuvayokva and the village of Oraivi will host the annual Oraivi 8K Footrace and 2 Mile Fun Run and Walk.  The 8K race will begin at 6:30AM.  Be sure to arrive early if you intend to run but have not yet registered.  And bring extra cash with you to buy coffee, breakfast burritos, and race t-shirts and mugs. Kwakwha’ to all those who keep our trails open by running in this event!

Running through exhaust

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi Runners, Hopi Running, Photos, Running3 Comments
Illinois cornfield and rural road - Photograph by Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

On Friday of last week I went on a run that brought me to the middle of corn fields outside the city of Champaign, Illinois. As I plugged away on a country road, a large truck drove by and I got a mouth full of exhaust. This is one of my least favorite parts about running on rural roads.

But it reminded me of Hopis during the 1910s and 1920s who “ate exhaust” in many marathons that they competed in. It was not uncommon for newspaper reporters or race officials to drive their automobiles 10 or 15 feet in front of the lead runners.  Some runners were so overcome with exhaust that they quit.

Back out at Hopi, runners did not have to contend with automobile exhaust, but when they competed in events beyond the mesas, it became a serious issue for them to manage.

It’s difficult enough to run long distances with high heat and humidity, and sore legs and feet, but adding the heavy exhaust element to running must have seemed unbearable.

And yet the vast majority of Hopi runners pressed on to complete (and sometimes win) the marathons that they started.

For the runners, the exhaust was simply another obstacle for them to overcome. It was one more hurdle for them to navigate through when they ran beyond their homelands in northeastern Arizona.

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

Outrunning Chief Illiniwek

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi Runners3 Comments
Photo courtesy of Action Sports International

I’ve been meaning to write a brief post about a 5K event that my wife, Kylene, and I ran in April. The race was part of the 2011 Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon held in Champaign/Urbana. The course started on the southwest side of the University of Illinois and proceeded north to “campus town” on Green Street. It eventually made its way back south to the school’s Memorial Stadium.  The race ended inside the stadium.  The picture on the left is of me sprinting the last 100 yards to the finish. My time was 28:27, and Kylene completed the course in 27:46. We both did better than we expected. Some of my students came out to cheer me on. One student even made a sign that read “Go Professor Gilbert!” He received extra credit. You can read about his observations of the race on his blog.  He writes about seeing a runner dressed up as the former University of Illinois mascot Chief Illiniwek. I also saw this individual before the beginning of the race. A lot of people wanted to take their photograph with him. He was decked out in feathers and a war bonnet.  He liked the attention, but he wasn’t much of a runner. I never saw him again after the first 30 yards.

CU on the Trails 5K Fun Run/Walk

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi RunnersLeave a comment
CU on the Trails 2011 (I highlighted the wrong path I took in blue)

This morning my wife and I ran a 5K as part of the annual Champaign Park District’s CU on the Trails event. The idea behind the race is for people in the community to become familiar with the parks in Champaign and the running/walking trails that are associated with each one.

This was our third year participating in the race. The running conditions were not ideal, but they weren’t terrible either (40 degrees with rain).

Two years ago I ran in this event while pushing a double running stroller. I don’t recall my exact time, but I remember that it took me a while to run 3.1 miles. Today, only 15 or so runners showed up for the 5K. Everyone blamed the rain and wind for the low turnout.

Before the race, I thought I would do something different and try to  keep up with the lead runners.  For nearly two miles I was in third place, right behind the first and second runner. But then I ran out of steam and quickly realized that I needed to slow down.

At about this time, I approached a race volunteer and asked “how much longer?” He replied, “About two more miles, you’re almost halfway.” I had a hard time believing that I was “almost halfway,” but I kept going at my new (slower) pace.

When I crossed the finish line (a tree branch), nobody was there taking people’s times, and so I called out to the race organizers “Time?!” and one lady said, “9:37.” I smiled, but was too tired to laugh.

As I drank water and munched on a granola bar, my wife told me that some of us (she and I included) took the wrong “trail,” which put an additional 3/4 mile on the run. I think that information made us feel somewhat better about our times.

Our next 5K will be for the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon in two weeks. However, I guarantee I won’t be able to keep up with the lead group in that event!

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert