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Figure 1 There has been plenty of Native American success at the Olympics
At a time when it seems as if there is more prejudice and hatred than ever pointed at Native Americans, we have always tried to highlight positive stories of our peoples. A feeling of pride in your culture and heritage is important to us all and that can be helped by profiling success stories in the wider world.
If you were to take a look at the sports pages and betting online sites you may not see too many names that are recognizably Native American at first glance. But there is a long history of our people – from a number of tribes – excelling in their chosen sports in the US. Here are five of the very best.
Jim Thorpe
One of the greatest Native American athletes of all time, there is a lot of mystery about the early years of Jim Thorpe. But what is known is that he was born the child of two parents of mixed-race ancestry in what is now Oklahoma. What is better known is that he was a two-time Olympic gold medal winner as well as an accomplished football and baseball star.
He was stripped of his medals won at the 1912 Stockholm games after it was discovered that he has broken the strict amateur rules of the time. He did finally successfully appeal to have his Olympic titles reinstated and coached both football and baseball before appearing in a number of films before his death in 1953 at the age of just 55.
Billy Mills
An Ogala-Sioux athlete, Billy Mills is the only Native American to ever win the Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters. Unknown to most going into the 1964 Tokyo games, Mills upset the odds and beat the then-world record holder to become the first non-European to win the race.
Mills later went on to set records at the same distance, as well as in longer races. But he is probably now better known for the work he has done for Native American groups raising self-efficiency and self-esteem within the communities. Still working, he was inducted into the Native American Hall of Fame in 2018.
Joe Hipp
Known as ‘”The Boss”, Hipp was the first Native American to challenge for a world heavyweight boxing championship. The bout was actually on the undercard of the infamous Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley fight in 1995 – the first time that Tyson had fought after being released from prison for rape.
Hipp began his career in 1987 and ended up winning 43 of his 50 fights – 29 by the way of knockout. He had already amassed a very impressive amateur record before that too. After losing to Bruce Seldon in the championship fight, his boxing career wound down. But he was honored in 2009 when he was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.
Figure 2 Hipp almost made it to the very top
John Meyers
Born in 1880, Meyers was a famous and much-loved baseball player who quit Dartmouth College in 1909 to sign professional forms with the New York Giants as a catcher. He was a long-time friend of fellow Native American baseball sensation Jim Thorpe and also played for the Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Robins in a successful career.
A hugely charismatic man, Meyers was something of a media sensation and used his heritage and personality to win over legions of fans. He ended up being something of a celebrity and finished his baseball career with a .291 batting average and played in four World Series.
Lewis Tewanima
A teammate of Jim Thorpe at the Carlisle Indian School, Tewanima was from the Hopi tribe and won a silver medal at the 1912 Olympic Games. He had previously competed at the 1908 games in London and had won the 1911 New York Marathon, even though he had been somewhat reluctant to begin running initially.
After his achievement in 1912, Tewanima returned to his reservation home in Arizona and became a shepherd. He tragically died in 1969 after falling from a 70-ft cliff. But his name lives on in the Hopi tribe, with a race dedicated to his memory held every year on top of Second Mesa.