Josephine Aitken (Ojibwe/Ho-Chunk): Three-sport Athlete at Bemidji HS (MN) Played Fall Soccer

By Dan Ninham

The Bemidji HS girls’ soccer team recently lost the Minnesota Section 8A championship match. The Lumberjacks were aiming for a four-peat section championship and trip to state tournament.  

One of the soccer players was Josephine Aitken. She is 16 years old and a junior at Bemidji HS. She is also a three-sport athlete in soccer, hockey and track and field.

“Josie Aitken played an integral role in the success of our 2020 soccer season,” said Logan Larson, head coach of the Bemidji HS girls’ varsity soccer team. “As an outside midfielder Josie displayed creativity with the ball at her feet that left opposing defenders twisted. She used intelligent attacks with the ball that created opportunities for her teammates to score. She had well timed runs down the outside, using her speed and grit to fight through defenders and get shots on goal.”

“Throughout the entire season Josie played with an absolute belief in her team and in herself that we are in fact champions. This belief permeated throughout the team and aided us in advancing through the section playoffs to the championship game. She never played a minute of any game like she was scared of anyone,” added Coach Logan.

“I have two Indian names, one in Ho Chunk and one in Ojibwe,” said Josephine. “My Ho Chunk name, Ho Ma Pi Kerewinga, means ‘good nest builder’, and was given to me when I was about one year old. My Ojibwe name was given to me by my father when I was 10 years old. Gaagige Binesikwe, means ‘forever thunderbird woman.’”

“I compete for my family, and my team of course,” said Josephine. “It doesn’t matter if my relatives are at the games supporting me, or listening in at home. I want to and love making them proud.” 

“My mother is Polly Aitken and my dad is the late Larry Aitken,” said Josephine. “I am eagle clan and my tribe is Leech Lake. I also have ties to the Winnebago tribe in Nebraska because that’s my mother’s tribe.” 

“I started playing soccer when I was about five years old,” said Josephine. “My mom and my sister Athena absolutely loved the sport so they put me in recreational soccer every summer and fall season since middle school. I fell in love and I haven’t stopped playing. I also participate in hockey in the winter and track in the spring, but for Covid-19 reasons those seasons are undetermined. Some of my main athletic accomplishments of this year are finally making varsity for soccer, and then scoring in the 8A section quarterfinals.”

“Some people who positively influenced me as a soccer player are my sister Athena and my soccer coach Dan Gannon,” said Josephine. “Athena has always been there and watched me play soccer since I first started. She always critiques what I can do better and tells me how good I did in the game. She also tells me what my team did good and what she thinks we could work on. She’s coached her rugby team to nationals three times in a row, so I tend to trust her judgment with coaching.”

“My summer soccer coach Dan Gannon, who is also now the assistant coach and the JV coach for Bemidji HS, has been a positive influence on me in soccer,” said Josephine. “Dan has been coaching my summer league since we were all about 10 years old. He’s just always been a good coach, and even when we were all little he got me and my teammates to play every game like it was our last.”

“I remember last summer, we had a tournament in Fargo. We played each game our hardest, and ended up having to play one nasty team that already had it out for us, for the championship win. We ended up winning, even with no subs because a few girls got injured and couldn’t play. I’ll never forget Dan talking to us after the game, and saying how he’s never seen a team play harder, and even he didn’t expect us to play as hard as we did, and win!” add Josephine.

“I was impressed with how seriously Josie took her and her team’s health during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Dan Gannon, assistant coach of BHS girls’ varsity soccer. “She was careful to mask up and socially distance in order to help preserve the team’s ability to complete its full schedule without any illnesses.”

“Josie also took a courageous stand against racial injustice along with her teammate and good friend Massy Toward, by kneeling while the national anthem was played. Few teenagers want to stand out or seek potential controversy but she stayed true to her values and made her statement in a silent but powerful way,” added Coach Dan.

“On the pitch I saw Josie create many scoring chances for herself and teammates,” said Coach Dan. “As the season went on Josie nearly scored a half dozen times, hitting the post, nutmegging the goalie or narrowly missing by inches. While she was frustrated it also became a bit of a running joke. Finally, in one of our biggest games of the year Josie scored a crucial goal in the playoffs against #1 seed and archrival East Grand Forks.”

“Her ability to use her sense of humor to fight through the scoring drought helped her to persevere in the team’s biggest win at that point. Josie’s presence with the team is so incredibly positive, hard working and full of laughter. We are lucky to have someone of her character on our team,” added Coach Dan.

“During this pandemic, things are obviously a lot different than last year,” said Josephine. “I have to physically prepare by warming up and stretching. It also helps to just take a deep breath and get level headed. The way I mentally prepare myself for games and practices is I just have to think that each one could be my last. I give it my all and just try to have a good time. Nobody knows how long this pandemic is going to go on, so who knows if we might go into lockdown again. So if I’m having a bad game or practice, I just try to relax and take a step back and realize that I’m grateful that I even get to have a season in the first place. It also helps to have good supportive teammates.”

“Emotionally, if I’m having just a bad day my teammate always finds a way to cheer me up or make me laugh. I try to not let my emotions get the best of me or affect my performance on the field. Spiritually, before a game I always try and find time to pray with tobacco, and ask the Creator to keep my teammates and I in good health and that we play well. While I’m praying I also ask that my dad watch over me and keep me safe,” added Josephine. 

“Try new things, no matter if your friends make fun of you for it or not,” said Josephine. “If you like it and it makes you happy, go for it. I remember when I told a few of my old friends about the sports I was playing and they laughed and said ‘those are white sports.’ I didn’t really understand how only a certain race could play certain sports, and I still don’t. But I ignored it, I kept going, and I couldn’t be anymore happy than where I am now.” 

“I have an amazing team that I get to play with,” said Josephine. “I wouldn’t want to play in a section title match with anyone else.”

Photo Credit: Laine Hiller and Hudson Macarro