"This time of the year is special in the eyes of many Skins. No, it’s not because of the Shamrock Shakes at McDonalds for St. Patrick’s Day or because of our historic love for daffodils. Instead, the beginning of March is special because it signifies state tournaments for boys and girls high school basketball teams across Indian Country—loads of moms, dads, baby’s mamas, grannies, cousins, aunties and uncles piling into Ford LTDs and Chevy Novas to root young Indian men and women on.

It’s quite a spectacle.

The basketball teams in many of our reservation towns are some of the crowning jewels of our people. We literally pile in—convoy—60, 70 cars in a row to go to the larger cities, armed with good medicine, some Shasta pop and a ring of red and a loaf of bread. We go to watch these beautiful Native kids—some with braids tucked into the backs of their jerseys, most with shaved heads and closed-cropped haircuts—and see a glimpse into the future that they can have, with hard work, dedication and prayer."

Get the Story:
Gyasi Ross: INDIANS ALREADY HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF “SACRED” THINGS: We’ll Just Call Basketball “Really Important” (Indian Country Today 3/4)