by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Julian Greendeer’s Ho-Chunk name is Cajiskuc (Cha-jee-skuch) and translates to ‘The wind that plays with the deer’. He is a member of the Deer Clan. His mom is Melissa Metoxen and his dad is David Greendeer. His step-dad is Cory Ninham.
“I currently play for Notre Dame Academy, a high school in Green Bay, WI,” said Julian.
“I was invited to play for Team Wisconsin at the Native American Indigenous Games 2020,” said Juliam. “I was invited to play for Legends, which is a team organized by notable lacrosse player Kyle Harrison, in Philadelphia last summer of 2019. I also made the Iroquois Nationals youth team in 2020.” Most 2020 lacrosse programming is postponed or pending due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a Native athlete I’ve been taught to be respectful at all times,” said Julian. “This includes showing my respect for the environment and to be grateful for the animals and the earth and keep them in consideration when I play. I also show respect to the players, coaches, and parents of my team and my opponent’s team. Another value is to always give thanks to the Creator for every game I play, and the ability to be able to practice and play the game I love each day, to the sky, and my team and family.”
Family and Friend Influences
“Both of my parents taught me to always be the best I can be and tell me to always play with a clear mind,” said Julian. “They also taught me that I am stronger than I believe and that if I want to be, I can be the best player on the lacrosse field. They taught me to work hard as a player and always work to be a better player but more importantly a good person.”
“Cory Ninham is my other father, and having him around, he really knows me, and he knows how to push me and get outside to be the best player I can be,” said Julian. “He’s been supportive of me since day one, and I can tell that he’s proud of me and my accomplishments so far. He has dedicated a lot of his time into my lacrosse and tournaments and taken time off from work just to be there, and for that I am very grateful.”
“My good friend Laken Hargrove has also positively influenced me,” said Julian. “We have been playing with each other for quite a few years now, and he is the guy that really makes me be more competitive. We push each other every day. We strive to be better than each other while still maintaining our friendship. He also makes me a better friend and helps me think about other competitors and to always get better.”
“Lastly, I would say pretty much all my opponents influence me to be a competitive athlete,” said Julian. “Every time I play a new team, there are always stand out kids, or kids I hear about, and I strive to be better than them. Each day I practice, I don’t want to lose and I want to be the best and compete like a champion.”
“Julian Greendeer was born on October 14th, 2004,” said dad David Greendeer. “I am proud to say that he is my son.”
“Julian was born a fighter, his mother had complications at birth,” said David. “I remember my son coming into the world and he didn’t breathe right away. I have never seen a birth and now the doctors were taking him to the back room. I told his mother ‘I’m going with them’ and went to the back room with the nurses’ as he still wasn’t breathing. I remember praying at that moment and asking for the Creator to have mercy on us and to allow our son to breathe. He started to cry. I started to cry, I was so happy and relieved. My son, my firstborn ‘kunu’ (means firstborn in Ho-Chunk) was here. I held him briefly and then had to give him to the nurse as his collarbone had a mark and later found that it was broken.”
“I believe the beginning of his character was developed that day,” said David.
“A few months went by, he had some issues to his muscles around the neck. Overall his recovery took a few years due to the trauma of that day, but I don’t recall him ever complaining about it as a young kid. He just dealt with it, and overcame it. This kid is tough,” said David.
“Julian was always a leader in preschool through his grade school years,” said David. “He was always an exceptional student and started to display an awareness and high level of problem solving I hadn’t noticed in many children. At age six, one day Julian asked me if he could have a stand at a powwow and he had been dancing at powwows since diapers. I looked at my little six year old and asked him what he was going to sell at his stand? He said ‘I’m going to sell balloon animals and card tricks!’ I smiled and asked him what balloon animals he knew how to make. He said ‘I can make a sword and a dog’. I said ‘ok’. Then I asked him what card tricks he knew. He said he knew one card trick. He said he felt he knew them well enough to sell. His mother and I spoke about it and we agreed to let him try.”
“A stipulation of him having a stand was that he had to ask his great-grandmother for permission to set up with her stand,” said David. “He said he would and called her and asked her. She said ‘ok’. Next we grabbed a cardboard box and covered it with a Pendleton and sat a chair behind it. This was his ‘stand’. We bought him a bag of balloons and had him count them out and asked him how much he would charge per animal. He said a dollar for balloon animals and 50 cents for the card trick.”
“I was amazed. He knew what he wanted to do, how much he would charge, how he would get his money and had a larger goal in mind. He wanted to buy his own iPad,” added David.
“He practiced his tricks that morning,” said David. “We set up during the powwow on day one and he sold out. He made over 89 dollars between selling balloons with a sword and a dog only and only one 50 cent card trick. I knew this kid had gifts, but this amazed me.”
“Julian seemed to always be able to interpret the world and overcome challenges,” said David. “Early on I recall kids picking on him in kindergarten and grade school, at the beginning of each school year. Although he was fast and strong and talented he was native and had long hair. I personally think that has something to do with it since he went to a catholic school that was comprised of mainly non-native students.”
“I remember in kindergarten and second grade Julian telling me it bothered him as he took note that he was being treated differently than the other kids. I recall his mom and I arguing and intervening many times to fight for fair treatment. After we stood up for him, the issues seemed to fade away. Julian started to really accelerate his learning at that time. He was now the fastest and strongest and according to him in his sit-up and workout school challenges and started to develop into an athlete,” added David.
“During flag football the team got mad at the coaches for not just giving Julian the ball to score,” said David. “Every time he was handed the ball he scored, not once in the whole season did he not score that year.”
“His leadership began developing at such a young age,” said David. “Through the rest of his grade school and middle school years Julian was an honor student-athlete.”
“At age 11 he could solve a Rubik’s Cube without looking at it and behind his back,” said David. “One time we went to stay at the Intercontinental Hotel in Milwaukee before a lacrosse tournament. We walked into the hotel to check in and on the counter was a Rubik’s Cube Challenge. The hotel promotion said to solve it in less than two minutes and you get a free room for the night! I looked down at him and said ‘son, do you think you can do it?’ He said ‘yes’. I smiled. We both knew he had it in the bag. The hotel attendant gave him the Rubik’s Cube and he started in, he took his time and with thirty seconds left, he had the cube behind his back. I looked at him and said ‘what are you doing?’ He said ‘don’t worry ‘jaji’. I just want to see them smile a bit’. He looked at the hotel front desk clerk who had been watching intently and said in a few moves I’m going to finish the Rubik’s Cube without looking and behind my back. The attendant said ‘I’ll upgrade you to a suite. I’d like to see that’. Boom! Julian made a few twists and it was solved. We had a suite for the evening.”
“Julian began playing lacrosse in Baraboo, Wisconsin for a team called BALA,” said David. “Lacrosse was relatively new to the area and Julian took to the game overnight. He practiced everyday. We had him play Sauk Prairie the next year because they had an older and stronger program. Then he went to play for the Oneida Nation Community Lacrosse Program and then Appleton for Team Wisconsin during the off-season. He played lacrosse for club teams since fourth grade and has never put down the stick since.”
“Julian told me at the end of seventh grade that he and his cousin Laken were going to go to Notre Dame Academy,” said David. “He said ‘Laken and I are going to bring them a championship. We want a chance to lead them and obtain a good education so we can go to college!’ This kid just makes my jaw drop when he says statements like that. He does what he says. He works hard.”
“He does fail from time to time and when he does he learned to pick himself up and works harder, smarter,” said David. “I love that about him. He is truly a leader and a work of art. I’m very proud of my son, and he will do great things for all those he affects.”
“His goal is to play lacrosse professionally. It is a healing game and he knows that he plays for all of our family and proudly plays for all Indian people,” added David.
“Julian hasn’t cut his hair since he was in grade school,” said David. “He is very proud of it and I believe it symbolizes his strength and beliefs.”
“Although his mom and I are divorced, he has always been strong,” said David. “Stronger than I ever was and I would like him to know that. He is the greatest big brother and everyone including all sorts of little kids we run into idolizes him. He is truly a legend in the making.”
“Julian is a leader on and off the field,” said mom Melissa Metoxen. “He is always positive and supporting his team, no matter the circumstances and he makes any team he is part of better because of his attitude. To me, an all around good athlete shows these qualities in their everyday life, and I can say Julian does that. He also takes his academics seriously and knows that if he wants to play lacrosse in college he has to do well in high school. He has always strived to do his best even at a young age in everything he did from sports to school. His dedication to honing his skill on the field and in home workouts and practices is impressive. I know he will only continue to improve and reach his goals he has for himself. I am beyond proud of him.”
“I’ve seen leadership skills over the years in Julian,” said step-dad Cory Ninham. “One example that comes to mind is from this year with his new high school team. In the beginning of the year Julian has been taking the initiative of getting to know his teammates and also helping his teammates with equipment. He would offer to string up their sticks and offer some advice on what they should use for equipment. Not only would he do this for his teammates but also for friends just learning how to play from different schools. Before the pandemic he would try and get a group together and practice. I know where he wants to go with lacrosse and I hope he will continues to improve and bring whomever along the way.”
The Holistic Way To Be A Lacrosse Player
The holistic way to be a lacrosse player is to have a balance mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. By balancing these four components the lacrosse player will strive for optimum performance in practice and games.
“I work out every day either once or twice to keep up with my competition,” said Julian. “I play lacrosse for at least an hour every day, and work on my stick skills and try various drills to stay active and keep on my game.”
“I am constantly trying to grow my knowledge of the game and outsmart and outplay my competitors,” said Julian. “I do feel like I could improve on realizing that everyone plays different and has different viewpoints of the game and how things should be done and its good to understand these different viewpoints.”
“Every time I step on the field I know I am playing for all of creation and not just myself,” said Julian. “Before each game I think back to when the game was first played and how the generations before me played. There were generations of lacrosse players who played before me and I am grateful to be able to play in their footsteps.”
“The mental toughness strategies include reminding myself why I am there,” said Julian. “Yes, I play for my team and for them to win, but I also play for others around me, the ones who can’t play. As well as my family and everyone that’s supportive of me. I think of all the sacrifices they have gone through for me to be where I am, so in return, I tell myself that I need to bring my A-game for them because it’s the least I can do.”
“I keep positive and look on the bright side,” said Julian. “When I’m down, I play lacrosse. It is said to be the game of healing, and I truly have witnessed that. Whenever I am sad or frustrated, playing lacrosse helps me clear my mind and go back to being thankful for everything.”
“As soon as I started playing lacrosse in third grade I had a love for the game,” said Julian. “Seeing movies like Crooked Arrows and meeting some of my lacrosse role models like the Thompson Brothers gave me even more inspiration to be better and improve my game. As I got older I started thinking about college and wanting to play at the collegiate level. Being nominated by one of my coaches to play for the Legends lacrosse team at the NCAA finals weekend last year got me excited for what I could do and to see all the great talent out there. Before freshman year started my mom had me write out three goals for the school year and one of those was to make varsity for my team. We never got to have our season because of the pandemic but I am confident I can make varsity next year.”
Coach’s Perspectives Of The Talent Of Julian
“I have only seen him in scrimmages or in the gym for open gyms,” said Michael Hinkfuss, Head Boys’ Lacrosse Coach, Notre Dame Academy. “From what I have seen, he has the potential and attitude to be great. My first thought was he just wants to play the game. An example, we played in a box lacrosse league over the winter. The way he played when we were ahead by five goals or down by 10 goals never changed. His attitude toward himself and teammates remained the same. His teammates fed off of that and when they saw other people succeed it was congrats. To be able to consistently have a good attitude and stay focused in times of joy or hardship is a crucial attribute for being a leader.”
“With the tools and support around him, from his family and NDA, he will be able to find a spot in leadership for decades to come,” added Coach Michael.
“Is it too soon to call him a complete player?” said Butch Summers, Oneida Nation Community Lacrosse Coach. “A very athletic kid all around, dependable, will leave all he has on the field, and a very cool as a cucumber kinda’ guy.”
“Julian is a hard worker, and in game time it shows. When we get new players in our program, he is one of our players I tell them to watch, he takes on the leadership role naturally. On the field, he’s an inside scorer, very good stick skills and ball handler. Julian is one of many young men that has made our Oneida Lacrosse Program a successful program,” added Coach Butch.
“Julian is all around great kid and a awesome lacrosse talent as well as in other sports he participates in,” said Dana Isaac, Oneida Nation Community Lacrosse Coach. “A natural leader by making lax practice a regular habit and the way he works hard at practice it’s always encouraging to see. It shows in how it carries over to games and tournaments. He always plays hard in games and is a go to guy when you need a defensive stop, a certain play or a score.
I enjoyed coaching him and still do. I’ll be his fan wherever he plays in high school and beyond.”
Photo Credit: Vee Lee
