Utah tribes get 10 minutes of Olympic fame

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Facebook Twitter Email
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2002

A ceremony months in the making came off without a hitch on Friday night, as five tribes came together at the Winter 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, to showcase their cultures and traditions before a global audience of millions.

The affair lasted just 10 minutes but there was so much activity occurring on the floor of the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium that it was hard to notice. As a golden eagle soared above, performers Walela and Robbie Robertson repeated the phrase "This is Indian Country" while hundreds of representatives of the Ute, Goshute, Shoshone, Paiute and Navajo nations formed one big circle to give the opening ceremony of the Olympics an indigenous flair.

Even the crowd got into the action as audience members joined flute players from each tribe to make one giant "harmonic" note, as organizers put it. With President Bush, who was presented the tattered American flag from the World Trade Center site, and other world leaders in attendance -- and security at an all-time high -- the event was one big celebration of Olympic camaraderie.

Native participation in the Olympics, of course, dates back to the days of legendary Sac and Fox athlete Jim Thorpe. More recently, Oglala Lakota Gold medalist Billy Mills, judo expert Ben Nighthorse Campbell, now a Republican senator from Colorado, and current participant Naomi Lang, a skater from the Karuk Tribe, have been among the chosen few to make it to the international competition.

But with this year's event taking place in the backyard of the five tribes, there were more Native faces than usual, even if it came with lots of tugging and controversy. From the five tribal leaders who went to Greece in January to retrieve the Olympic torch to the dozen or so Native runners who helped carry it, Indian Country had many representatives.

As for the opening ceremony, a traditional chief from each tribe was lead into the stadium one by one on a horse. Each was then presented a gift by one of five athletes, including Lang. The chiefs then gave a blessing in their language.

That was followed by the "Millennium Drum Dance" with five circles of 24 drummers from each tribe providing the backbeat for hundreds of dancers. Once the song was complete, Walela and Robertson performed the "Unity Stomp Dance" as local skaters took to the ice dressed as eagles.

With the games now underway, Lang and partner Peter Tchernyshev, will compete in the "ice dancing" event starting Friday. The pair call themselves the "New American and the Native American" since Tchernyshev, who was born in the former Soviet Union, received his American citizenship last month.

NDNSports.Com, an online site dedicated to Indian athletes, points out that Lang isn't the only Native at the Olympics. The site reports that Blair Burk, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is a calf roper for the U.S. rodeo team.

Relevant Links:
Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics - http://www.saltlake2002.com
NDNSports.Com - http://www.ndnsports.com