by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Prairie Rose Caldwell is an enrolled member of the Shoshone Bannock Tribe. She is also part Navajo, Irish, and Prussian. Her Navajo clan is To’aheedlini (Water Flows Together) on her mother’s side. She was born for Bilaagna (Angelo)/Shoshone-Bannock Tribe on her dad side. Prairie Rose’s chei (maternal grandfather) is Kiyaa’aanii (Towering House) clan and her nali (paternal grandfather) is Shoshone-Bannock.
Prairie Rose’s mom is Jami Stevenson and dad is Jake Caldwell. The family lives on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Gibson, Idaho.
Prairie Rose is a sophomore student-athlete at Idaho Class 4A Blackfoot High School in Blackfoot, ID. She is maintaining a 3.5 GPA. She plays for the girls’ varsity basketball team as a shooting guard and point guard.
“I am 5’5,” said Prairie Rose. “I may be small but I am fierce.”
“At a young age she was a very quick wetted, tough, and determined little girl,” said mom Jami Stevenson. “Her first love was horses and rodeo. She grew up with rodeo that has built the foundations of hard work, and mental toughness. She was a fierce competitor in rodeo which carried over to the other sports she played especially basketball. She hasn’t done rodeo in awhile as basketball has taken up most of her time. She loves the game and continues to improve every year. She is a multisport competitor and loves teaching other kids her skills she was taught by others.”
“Prairie played in the Fort Hall Kids basketball league at Timbee Hall Gym when she was seven years old. When she played she was very aggressive on defense and determined to always win. So she played hard every game. She doesn’t like losing. People took notice to her game and I would receive different praises of how good she played. She got to play with coach Linda Skunkcap, and she continues to play with her now. Linda and her girls also play basketball. They’re well known around here to be good tough competitors as Linda’s girls also played in high school. However, I noticed Prairie needed more skills when she got into middle school that was outside the reservation.”
“Before her seventh grade year she tried out for the traveling team for AAU in Pocatello and made the team. This basically kicked off her basketball skills to another level. The next year she played with her middle school team in Blackfoot. Courtnie Smith was their coach and is also their high school basketball coach now. This team has been playing together since they were eighth graders and now they’re sophomores. As a mother, I noticed Prairie deal with some adversity and challenges daily. She continues to prove herself. It’s not easy coming off the reservation into a whole new ball game. She is the most hardworking person you will ever meet. She is very humble and will never brag about herself. She is the type of person that will give her own jacket to another to help them out,” added Jami.
“She is a great teammate,” said Jami. “Rather than taking the shot she will always look for the open option down below. She is quick and will get the ball to the post. Sweet hard passes. There is so much to say about her but I know she had it in her when she was little to become a true tough competitor because of her work ethics she displays.”
“Prairie’s athletic talents were very obvious at a young age,” said dad Jake Caldwell. “I was a pro rodeo saddle bronco rider for many years and her mother a very competitive breakaway roper and barrel racer. We knew Prairie was blessed with hand eye coordination and speed and as soon as she could walk she could ride a horse, swing a rope and dribble a basketball. These motor skills were very easy for her. Prairie junior rodeo’d and she competed in all events. One season she had some trouble with the goat-tying event and in that event you ride, dismount, flank and tie a goat for a time with the fastest time winning. I seen Prairie riding very fast down the arena, stepped down like a mountain lion and tie that goat smooth as silk for the win. I knew Prairie had athletic talent. However, Prairie demonstrates try and toughness and I would say she has more try and is tougher than average due to her rodeo and riding experiences.”
“Basically it’s not all about the ‘talent’, it’s about the try desire and mental toughness with us,” added Jake.
“The person that introduced me to the game of basketball and also took me to my first game was my auntie Merilee Caldwell-Alsterlund,” said Prairie Rose. “She is a former Boise State University and College of Idaho basketball player. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was only four years old. I cried and didn’t want to play. I cried so bad that my dad who was also there felt bad for me and said basketball wasn’t for me and took me home.”
“However, as you can see that changed the next few years. From there on, I started playing at my local gym here on the reservation called Timbee Hall. This is where I learned the skills of basketball: respect towards opponents, coaches, refs, and teammates while still having the bravery to try new things and stand up for what I believe is right. Also, carrying the sense of pride from where I come from and who I represent especially when playing at different tournaments and leagues such as AAU or Native tournaments,” added Prairie Rose.
Merilee Caldwell-Alsterlund, Prairie Rose’s auntie, said: “When Prairie Rose came into the world weighing a whopping 10 lbs. 14 oz., I knew she was going to be something special. Early on she had a mellow demeanor and a loving personality. At around age three something changed. Our sweet little Prairie found some sass and suddenly demanded to be an individual. She took that fire inside her and carried it into rodeo. Not only did rodeo teach her to compete, but it also put her in a position where she could handle criticism from a tough coach, her mother. Being a competitor all my life, I would watch Prairie handle success, but also the losses. The part that separates her from the rest of the pack is her ability to pick herself up and try again.”
“Since Prairie was my little sidekick I naturally introduced her to my favorite sport, basketball,” said Auntie Merilee. “We would go to the gym as often as possible and I would basically run a little camp style with her. Making her dribble, shoot, and defend and of course coach her on what she needed to get better at. Having your aunt coach you has its benefits, but I wouldn’t be lying and I am sure Prairie would agree, its wasn’t always fun. I always give her honest feedback and there were times this wasn’t well received. In all the times and maybe being ‘too tough’ on her, she always came back and tried again. I knew from that point on that she had a bright future in sports and in life.”
“One of the biggest reasons I wanted Prairie to love basketball as much as I did is because of the toughness it has given me in my life. Yes, basketball got me through college and introduced me to lifelong friendships, but most of all, it taught me success doesn’t just happen. You have to work at it. I do not care where you are from, or who you are related to, if you don’t practice and do the ‘hard things,’ you can’t expect success,” added Auntie Merilee.
“Prairie does the hard things when she is on the court,” said Auntie Merilee. “Whether it’s a loose ball, full court defense or being the first one down the floor, Prairie knows she controls her effort. I know she will not only continue to excel in basketball, but Prairie is going to make an impact on others throughout her lifetime. At the end of the day, my greatest joy is that she is a great teammate and a coachable athlete. Basketball is going to continue to bless Prairie in ways she would never expect. I look forward to the years to come.”
“My coach Linda Yazzie Skunkcap from Fort Hall taught me to have a cool demeanor in pressured situations and my personal favorite, playing as one whole,” said Prairie Rose. “She taught me to be strong at heart especially playing outside of the reservation. She has been a big inspiration to me when it comes to playing basketball. The least I could do is humbly give back what was given to me. Being able to give my advice as a successful student-athlete to young players out there on the reservation. I want to pave the way for young kids in my community who have the talent to play ball in bigger schools and look beyond all the possibilities they can accomplish. But it takes dedication, hard work, and a good attitude.”
“Merle Smith, who is a Native American teacher at Blackfoot High School and former coach, was a well known basketball player in his younger years,” said Prairie Rose. “He has definitely given me honest advice in the game of basketball. He understood me the most. He gave me courage and insight every week during the season. When I’m frustrated, he would help me see through the frustrations. His motto was to always have fun, keep calm, and shoot the ball whenever I had the chance.”
“Raimee Beck Odum is my former junior varsity coach from freshman year,” said Prairie Rose. “She was the best coach I ever had. She always trusted and believed in me to make things happen on the court. She also reminded me that I have a big role as the point guard and that meant I have a huge impact on my teammates while running the court and to always be confident and learn to believe in myself.”
“I was Prairie’s head basketball coach when she was a freshman on the JV basketball team at Blackfoot High School from 2018-2019,” said Raimee Beck Odum. “I could immediately tell she was a special player and person. She had such contagious energy and a positive attitude. My fondest memory of Prairie was toward the middle of our season. We had a very talented team and two players were moved up to varsity in the middle of the season, leaving a vacant point guard position and an unknown of how well the team would fare without two talented teammates. I immediately knew the player that would fill the starting point guard position and lead our team: Prairie. It was a daunting challenge for Prairie. She had the convenience of a great point as a teammate until that point.”
“The responsibility of handling defensive pressure, making high-IQ decisions, an increased responsibility to score more and setting the team up in an offense was overwhelming at times. However, frustration and mistakes never caused Prairie to waver. It was truly a joy for me to watch the frustration turn into confidence. The growth strides were incredible and she blossomed. That season, she helped lead our team to a District Championship win. Her positive attitude, high-energy and commitment to her team and the game of basketball is really something that makes Prairie a special person and basketball player. I look forward to watching Prairie continue down her bright path,” added Raimee.
“Jared Arave, current varsity assistant coach for Blackfoot HS girls’ basketball, instilled in me how to be calm in situations and to learn to control the tempo of the game,” said Prairie Rose. “He always encouraged me to shoot the ball and look at the tons of options on the court. It’s awesome because during games when I get water breaks he and I talk about the game and what we could’ve done better.”
The holistic model is based on having a balance of mind, body, emotion, and spiritual components of being healthy. Student-athletes that aspire toward being the best they can be need to continue this balance on and out of the playing arena.
“For my physical training, I have been doing CrossFit, hitting the weight room, sessions with my former coach Ramiee, and running cross country to build my endurance,” said Prairie Rose. “The mental area I lack is understanding the game to the next level. I had to learn the hard way that you can’t always run and gun down the floor to immediately make something happen, it’s a process. Spiritually, I am a Christian. So reading daily scriptures and being in prayer is important to me. Before every game my family and I gather in prayer to pray for the safety of my teammates, coaches, and myself. Whether we win or lose, I always learn something from each game. Emotionally for tough situations while everyone is freaking out I do my best to keep calm, relaxed, and focus on what I learned in practice. During practice, we go over dire situations whether it’s being down five or up five. Repetition is important in those strategies we learn.”
The COVID-19 literally made the world stop and adjust about a month ago in the U.S. The shelter-in-place situation is needed and many student-athletes continue to study by distance learning and to practice their skill work in different ways.
“Since it’s technically the offseason and with the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic it has cancelled school for the reminder of this year,” said Prairie Rose. “I have committed to working at home and this includes daily workout routines, running, and trying my best to eat healthy. My grandpa built us a basketball court a few years back so that gives me the opportunity to continue to up my skills. Lastly, I would like to thank my grandparents Janet Stevenson and Johnson Stevenson for being my biggest supporters even though they live in New Mexico. They travel to most of my basketball games cheering me on.”
The rodeo lifestyle shifted gears to being an aspiring high school basketball star for Prairie Rose Caldwell at Blackfoot HS.
Photo Credit: Sho-Ban News, Dana Hernandez
