Indigenous players aiming for NFL history
Kolby KickingWoman ICT
The biggest game in American sports is less than 24 hours away, where three Indigenous players will be taking the field at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX.
The game features a super-sized rematch from two years ago, where the Kansas City football team bested the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35. Fast forward to today, Kansas City is seeking to become the first team in National Football League history to win three Super Bowl championships in a row.
Kansas City's roster sports two Indigenous athletes, first-team All-Pro center Creed Humphrey, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and long snapper James Winchester, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. For Philadelphia, second-team All-Pro left tackle Jordan Mailata, Samoan, will be tasked with protecting the blind side of quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Earlier this week, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation shared a social media post on Facebook congratulating Humphrey on the latest return to the Super Bowl and looked back on a Q&A it had with him from 2023.
In the interview, Humphrey said he is proud to represent his family and his tribe.
'My family lives in Shawnee. They live in that area. I've been around them my whole life, and I've been representing the tribe my whole life. It's definitely for me, representing my family well, things like that,' Humphrey said in 2023. 'And again, having this opportunity to where there's not a ton of Native American athletes in professional sports being able to do that and have different kids within CPN [Citizen Potawatomi Nation] be able to look up to me, I think is a really cool thing.'
During an interview on 'The Rich Eisen Show' on Jan. 29, Humphrey said he will have a big group of supporters rooting him on from the stands.
'Got a few family members coming so it'll be a big group there,' Humphrey told Eisen. 'They're excited about it. You know, I've always had big groups come out and support me to the Super Bowl, so it's a lot of fun. You know, I'm excited for them to get to go experience it again. It's gonna be a good time.'
Winchester told ICT in 2023 that playing in the Super Bowl is exciting and represents something bigger than himself.
'It represents the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and so many back home with my family and friends that I love and appreciate,' Winchester said. 'It's such a cool thing to represent a nation and my family, so that's probably what means the most to me to play in the Super Bowl.'
ICT was unsuccessful in its multiple attempts to interview the players before the game this year.
While the Super Bowl is the main course, the week leading up to the game is the appetizer. There are galas, parties and of course the infamous Super Bowl radio row, where all sorts of mediums broadcast daily throughout the week.
Some 6,000 media members from around the world were credentialed for Super Bowl LIX.
Early in the week, United Natives Inc. hosted its 2nd Annual United Natives Sports Gala as well as Women in Sports Cocktail Hour, celebrating the impact of women in sports that featured a fireside chat that focused on the impact of sports in tech and community.
Founder and chief executive officer of United Natives, Dr. Crystal Lee, Navajo, is based in Las Vegas and the idea of the gala came together last year when the Super Bowl was held there. Lee wanted to showcase Indigenous excellence and have tribes get some high level visibility.
She said It also serves as a networking platform that brings together tribal leaders, community leaders and people from the corporate world into a single space. Among the VIP guests this year were former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans, and Eric B., who is part of the iconic hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim.
The night included performances from Notorious Cree and Indigenous Enterprise.
'For the non-Native people, it's great for them to see our heritage and our culture,' Lee told ICT.
Indian Country loves sports and as the Super Bowl travels year-to-year, Lee sees it as a great way to highlight and showcase the local tribes around the host city. This year included representation from all five tribal nations from Louisiana.
'So it's kind of like a hybrid of bringing two different distinct communities together and the crossover is really amazing to see in that room,' Lee said.
United Natives started during the Covid pandemic and helped with Covid relief for different tribes. The organization obtained a direct contract with Lysol and distributed products to 150 Native communities throughout New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
Post-Covid, the organization transitioned into mental health and the adverse impacts the pandemic had on tribal communities and has since become a main priority. In 2024, United Natives fully transitioned its programming into direct telehealth mental health initiatives and is now located in 14 states.
Getting the organization's message out to tribes that had not previously heard of it was the highlight of the week for Lee, along with the gala.
'I think the highlight that I got was a lot of our tribes don't know about our organization and about our free mental health services,' Lee said. 'One of the states that we do offer free mental health services is in Louisiana, and another one, the states that were licensed is also now California. So they were just really happy to learn of our organization.'
As the game inches closer, it is unclear if there will be demonstrations or protests against the Kansas City team name in New Orleans. Not In Our Honor, a coalition of Native college students from the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University formed in 2005, advocates against the use of Native American imagery in sports will not be in attendance.
Rhonda LeValdo, Acoma Pueblo, cited security and safety as the group's largest concern after the terrorist attack that occurred on New Year's on Bourbon Street, a popular part of the French Quarter in the city, and the likely beefed up security with President Donald J. Trump planning to be in attendance. He will be the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, according to multiple reports.
Unclear on what would even be allowed to be carried around the stadium, not going was decided as the best course of action, LeValdo added.
'I don't think this is going to make or break us,' LeValdo said. 'We have five billboards here in Kansas City, in New Orleans we'll have a LED truck that's going to be driving around Saturday and Sunday with our messaging, 'Stop the chop,' 'Change the name,' and then also about who they're named after, H. Roe Bartle.'
The NFL will also not display the messaging 'End Racism' in the back of one of the endzones this year; instead going with the messages 'Choose Love' and 'It Takes All Of Us.'
'End Racism' has appeared in the last three Super Bowls, according to a report from Awful Announcing.
It is unclear whether the President's recent executive orders on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives played a role in the league's decision to opt for different messaging.
Kansas City is a slight favorite heading into the game, according to multiple sportsbooks. If the matchup from two years ago is any indication, the game could come down to the wire.
The Super Bowl will be aired on FOX at 6:30pm ET.
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