In the spirit of honoring Indigenous Peoples Day 2019, we’re taking a quick glance at Native American male and female student-athletes from all three divisions of the NCAA who will be running the show this winter. Each of the athletes we are showcasing is of First Nations heritage, belonging to more than 10 different tribes. While some talented names are surely to be missing from the list, we wanted to take the time to turn attention to at least one athlete of each gender and division who demands your immediate respect.
In 2018, according to the NCAA Demographics Database, across all divisions, only two head coaches and four assistants identified as American Indian or Alaska Native. On the women’s side, no head coaches are listed in the category, while six assistants were reported. When it comes to athletes, the women lead the men 82 to 63. With more attention given to the great accomplishments of the following athletes, on and off of the court, hopefully increasing numbers from future generations will aspire to follow the paths carved out by this group.
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Division I
Lindy Waters III
Oklahoma State
Kiowa / Cherokee
The 2018 American Indian Exposition ‘Indian of the Year’ is a title gathered by arguably the basketball’s top indigenous college athlete. Heading into his senior season with the Cowboys, Waters is riding the wave of a breakout junior season on the hardwood and a massive impact made on his community. Not only did Waters become a posterboy for OSU basketball, he was a featured face for the program’s N7 campaign during Native American History Month last November. Named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after a breakout junior campaign with the Cowboys, Lindy has started the last 37 consecutive games and has hammered down a role as a scorer. The second sharpest shooter from beyond the arc in the Big 12, Lindy shot 44.8 percent from three and collected on 87.8 percent of his free throws, also second in the conference. After earning a role as captain in his junior season, Lindy leads by example on the court with 40 double-digit games, 22 coming in 2018-19.
2018-19 Stats
Games: 32
Minutes: 1080/34.75
FG: 125/286 (.437)
3FG: 69/154 (.448)
Reb: 134 (4.19)
Assist: 91 (2.84)
Division II
Christian Braveheart
Cameron University
Sac N Fox
An incoming freshman to the Cameron Aggies lineup, only time will tell if we will see the high school start get any action in his first year on campus. Braveheart made the list not because he is one of the few American Indian athletes in DII basketball, but because he was a shining star in his prep days who shows a lot of promise for the next level. Braveheart earned a spot on the Oklahoma Native All-State Association basketball lineup for 2018-19 and finished on the Oklahoma All-State team. Last season, Cameron finished 9-20, 5-13 in conference, showing room for improvement from some new faces. Pending a redshirt, we should get to see a fair amount of Braveheart in his first campaign, as all member of the team saw significant minutes last year with all athletes seeing the court in at least 21 contests.
Division III
CooXooEii Black
Colorado College
Arapaho
Starting to find a role in his freshman year at Colorado College, Black quickly became the star by year two. The 6-foot-4 forward took on the role as the team’s leading… pretty much everything. Last season as a junior, he earned second-team all-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference after starting all 26 games with 893 minutes on the court and 404 points to show for it. Black finished second in the SCAC with 9 rebounds per game average and third in blocks with 34 total. Black put up nearly twice as many shots than anyone else on his team and still led in field-goal percentage with .571 on 184 made. Through his hard work in the classroom, Black earned his second-straight all-conference Academic Honor Roll and, for the first time, a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court.
2018-19 Stats
Games: 25
Minutes: 764/30.6
FG: 184/322 (.571)
3FG: 10/26 (.385)
Reb: 180 (7.2)
Assist: 25 (1)
WOMEN
Division I
Chelsea Dungee
Arkansas
Cherokee
A breakout second season created even more attention for one of the SEC’s top guards. Nowhere near a stranger to success, she began young with a gold medal run with Team USA 16 in the FIBA Americas championship. Dungee joined Team USA again this summer for trials ahead of a tour of Peru in the Pan American Games. She was the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year in Oklahoma before racking up accolades at the collegiate level. Although she earned a spot on the All-Big 12 freshman team from her stint at Oklahoma, once she settled in at Arkansas, she really began to shine. Last season, she put 759 points on the board, with 66 made from behind the arc. Dungee averaged slightly over one steal per game and more than four rebounds. Now that she is really settling into her role with the Razorbacks, Dungee has one of those skill sets that we can expect to rise to the top of the conference and make herself into a WNBA worthy talent.
2018-19 Stats
Games: 37
Minutes: 1,227/33
FG: 232/574 (.404)
3FG: 66/188 (.351)
Reb: 160 (4.32)
Assist: 59 (1.59)
Division II
Coral Gillette
University of Mary
MHA Nation / Standing Rock Sioux
Originally at Montana State, Gillette made the transfer closer to home and found a star role with the Marauders. As a sophomore, she averaged 30.5 points per game and led her entire conference in threes, connecting on 65 last season. Gillette joined a squad of travelling Americans in Brazil this summer, featuring other DII stars from around the country, scrimmaging top clubs on the country-wide tour. With two more season to go, expect Gillette to make some noise in Bismarck this winter.
2018-19 Stats
Games: 26
Minutes: 794/30.5
FG: 74/199 (.372)
3FG: 65/181 (.359)
Reb: 44 (1.7)
Assist: 56 (2.2)
Division III
Six athletes at Eastern Nazarene College
Seniesha Sekaquaptewa | Shante Slender | Mya Timms | Tariq Brownotter | Nahatabaa Nacoma | Bailey Craig
Hopi / Navajo | Navajo | Hopi | Lakota | Navajo | Northern Cheyenne
The NCAA reported that fewer than an a whole percent of female collegiate basketball identify as American Indian and/or Alaska Native. Across all DIII sports and genders, only 15 athletes fit this identification, and Eastern Nazarene had three of them, all on the women’s basketball team. To build on the unprecedented momentum, the program will be adding three more athletes identifying as American Indian for the 2019-2020 season. For a small school that is settled over 1,800 miles away from the closest athlete’s home reservations, it’s astounding that the program could recruit enough athletes from different First Nations to have a starting five and a fresh body ready to come off the bench. Last season, the guard pairing of Seniesha Sekaquaptewa and Shaten Slender created constant production for the Lions, each putting up similar numbers on the board with 93 and 91 points respectively and both just shy of 400 minutes. Athletes from reservations across the country are bound to see athletes, like these six pioneers, heading off to play ball in the NCAA and feel inspired to match feet and chase their own hoop dreams.
2018-19 Stats (Sekaquaptewa, Slender, Timms combined)
Games played: 65
Minutes: 928
FG: 78/214 (.364)
3FG: 11/53 (.207)
Reb: 180 (2.76)
Assist: 80 (1.23)
