by (Editor’s Note: Story originally appears in the Hopi tribal newspaper and is being used with special permission. All rights reserved)
by Cindi Polingyumptewa, Hopi Tutuveni
Scott Harves, ESPN Producer, met with the Hopi Cultural Resource Advisory Task Team (CRATT) on Oct. 23, to present a documentary he is working on about the Hopi High School (HHS) Boys Cross Country (XC) team and their 25 consecutive State Title wins.
Hopi High School (HHS) administrators were also present. A month ago, after learning about the Hopi High School XC team and their 25 consecutive state wins, Harves contacted Coach Rick Baker about producing a documentary.
“The Hopi cross country team may be popular in Arizona but not nationally,” said Harves. “ESPN is researching high school teams in the United States who may have won consecutive State Titles in any sport, not just Cross Country. We want to feature Hopi High School’s history in cross country, the Hopi people and why running is important.”
ESPN will begin filming the team during practice and at cross country meets leading up to the State Finals. They will also show how Coach Baker trains the team on the rough terrain and trails while incorporating Hopi culture and life on the Hopi reservation. They will interview the team to show what it’s like to be part of a winning team, how they work as a team and how they prepare for a race. Parents will be included in the documentary showing support for their children and their success on the team. High School Administrators were asked how the documentary would bring exposure to the athletes for possible scholarships and recruitment to bigger colleges to continue their education.
Ricky Greer, Hopi High School Athletic Director said it would open the doors for recruitment, “ESPN is giving us this opportunity to give exposure to Hopi High School and its students.”
“It will be a great opportunity for bigger colleges to see what our kids have to offer,” said Baker.
The school does give students the opportunity to go to college to run and get an education, but our Hopi culture is so strong that it brings our kids back home, and they miss school and it effects their education.
“Before the Hopi High School was built, Hopi kids were sent to schools off reservation and they ran cross country at those schools. Some of them hold records in running,” said Owen Numkena, CRATT Member.
“Louis Tewanima held an Olympic record in 1912 for 54 years until Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota Sioux beat his record.
This is what we need to teach our children, the history of running and these people need to be recognized.” Terry Morgart, Legal Researcher with Cultural Preservation Office (CPO) said there was a special permit made for this documentary project and copy right laws will ensure no one uses any footage from the video for any purpose.
Lyman Polacca, CRATT Member stated he is proud of the cross country team and Coach Baker, but does not want to see Hopi kids being sold on a Corn Flakes box.
Elmer Satala, Sr., CRATT Member said, “Long time ago pahanna’s had the Pony Express, but here on Hopi we used our Hopi runners to carry the mail from Keams Canyon to Holbrook and back.”
Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, Director of CPO, said “When Hopis are running they never have a course that runs downhill, they always run uphill and practice in sandy terrains.”
Harves said the documentary is scheduled to air on ESPN Sportscenter next spring, “The documentary could be as long as 8, 10, or 30 minutes, I’m not sure right now but we will start filming on Friday.”
Wonderful! So glad for my Hopi people. They are a hard working group. They do deserve opportunity to develop.
This is a fine example of how each Native American tribe in the US can bring culture awareness to the front line of athletics. Not only are the mainstream public good at a sport, but there are also different ethnic groups who produce outstanding athletes while keeping their culture in the programs.
I hope ESPN also documents other runners from Tuba City High School, another reservation school on the Navajo Reservation that had many Hopi Runners in the early to late 1970’s who also won consecutive state cross country titles for the school. Once Hopi High School was opened, that high school started winning those state titles and Tuba city became second in line, however still producing many fine Hopi runners from that school. Tuba City High School is on the border line of the Hopi and Navajo reservation; many Hopi students attend that high school.
I am proud to say that I applaud ESPN for their efforts to document these outstanding Hopi Runners and I hope the comments such as this:
“Lyman Polacca, CRATT Member stated he is proud of the cross country team and Coach Baker, but does not want to see Hopi kids being sold on a Corn Flakes box.”
Won’t interfere with the documentary. I wish some “traditional” people would be happy for these students and the Hopi people who would love to see something good come out of these consecutive state titles versus being so negative about being sold on a corn flake box. That is not the case…and I hope that those people see and understand this is a documentary to help other students, children become aware how great it is to be Hopi and how gifted the Hopi people are with their talents.
Good luck…and I wish ESPN the best and thank you.
I can’t wait to see this! So excited for coach Baker & the team! I went to Hopi & was proud to be able to say I went to Hopi, school of running champions! Keep up the good work Hopi! Nahongvita!
I hope that ESPN will have the sense to include some filmmakers from surrounding communities to help them film this documentary. I get tired of non-Natives coming into our communities and owning our stories.