Indigenous Sports: From the Traditional Stick Game to the Olympics

The Stick Game

Julia Starritt:
"The Shinny Game" (1957)
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 290-293, Text 78
Ararahih'urípih (Karuk Language Net)
[1] pa'arara'avanséextiivha uum yítha pakuméextiivha úthvuuyti imtháatva. víriva uum tishrámniik pakuníxtiivhitih. papanamnihimthatváram uum vaa káan ukyâasipreehiti paGeorgia mutasa'îikukam, xás yúruk paxánthiip u'iihyírak u'ípanhitih.

One game, of the Indian men's games, was called 'the stick game' (i.e., shinny). They played it on a level place. The Orleans stick-game field began there just outside Georgia's (Mrs. Georgia Henry's) fence, and it ended downriver where the black oak stands.

[2] xás kunsáanvuti áhup, úthvuuyti imtháatvar káru tákasar. xás patákasar uum ahuptunvêechas, unhítunvahitih. xákarari áxak pa'ávansas káru áachip áxak. yítha uum pa'ávansa poo'avíkvuti patákasar. apmáan mûuk upáratih.

And they carried sticks, they were called shinny sticks and a 'tossel' (i.e., a double ball). And the tossel was little sticks, they were tied together. There were two men at each end and two in the middle. One man carried the tossel. He bit it with his mouth (i.e., held it between his teeth).
3] púyava xás kári tá kunikyâasip. xás âapun patákasar tóo kyívish. púyava xákaan vúra patá kunxús " kíri nutâatsip." púyava yítha uum tóo tâatsip. yúruk tóo tâatrupuk. púyava xás puráan tá kun'ífukiraa, xás tá kunvúunva. púyava xás hâari xákaan vúra tá kunithyívish.

Then they began. The tossel fell on the ground. Both (men) thought, "Let's toss it!" And one tossed it. He tossed it downriver. Then they grabbed each other, and they wrestled. Sometimes both of them fell down.
[[4] púyava xás uumkun yu'kúkamkam pa'ávansas tá kunithvíripraa. púyava payítha peeshnaaníchhaak uum píshiip tu'úum patákasar uphírivirak. púyava xás uum píshiip tóo tâatsip. káruk tóo ptâatroov. xás uumkun káru ka'kúkam tá kunithvíripvarak. púyava patákasar tóo kyívishrihaak púyava tóo tâatsip. káruk tóo tâatroov. xás payu'kúkam uumkun káruk tá kunithvíriproov. púyava hâari vúra pu'ikyívivrathtihara. púyava hâari uum payu'kúkam pa'ávansas píshiip tu'úum, patákasar uphírivirak. púyava yúruk tóo tâatrupuk.

Then the men on the downriver end ran up. If one was swift, he arrived first where the tossel lay. So he tossed it first. He tossed it back upriver. Then the ones on the upriver end ran down. When the tossel fell, (one of them) tossed it. He tossed it upriver. Then the ones on the downriver end ran up. Sometimes (the tossel) didn't fall over (the goal line). Sometimes the men on the downriver end arrived first where the tossel lay. So (one of them) tossed it downriver

[5] púyava payu'kúkam tá kuntâativrukahaak púyava kári tá kunkôokha payúruk va'áras. káru uumkun paka'kúkam vúra kunkupheesh. vaa uum papaaxkívtihan uum peekpihan'íshiip káru peeshnanich'íshiip.

If the ones on the downriver end toss it over (the goal line), then the downriver people won. Those on the upriver side would do it also. The winners were the strongest and the swiftest.

https://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~karuk/karuk-texts.php?text-id=WB_KL-78​

The 1927 Redwood Highway Marathon

In 1927, the Redwood Highway All Indian Marathon was planned to celebrate and promote the newly constructed Redwood Highway (Crockett, 2023). The race organizers and sponsors limited entrants to individuals exclusively from Indigenous communities to increase the media coverage and nationwide sensationalism. The goal of the race was to promote tourism along the Redwood Highway by filling hotels along the route with tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the passing runners (Crockett, 2023).
The race was from San Francisco to Grants Pass along the Redwood Highway, which was primarily a dirt road at the time (Crockett, 2023). The rules included “run when you can, walk when you wish, and sleep if you have to. Finish in 15 days. Don’t accept lifts and don’t get off the Redwood Highway” (Crockett, 2023). Each racer was allowed to have a support car that carried their supplies (Crockett, 2023). Hotels provided rooms along the way if racers chose to stop and rest there (Crockett, 2023).
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“Redwood Highway - Pioneer Construction Across Soft, Muddy Earth” Cal Poly Humboldt Special Collection, Cat. # 1999.07.2136
The Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce recruited and sponsored eight runners from the Karuk Tribe in Happy Camp, including Henry Thomas, age 19, and John Wesley Southard, age 23, who proved to be impressive endurance runners (Crockett, 2023).  The newspapers at the time gave the runners “Indian names” as a marketing ploy; Henry Thomas was known as Flying Cloud, and John Wesley Southard was known as Mad Bull (Crockett, 2023).
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Runner on The Redwood Highway 1927-1928 People's Center Collection of Historic Photographs sipnuuk.karuk.us
On June 14, 1927, the race was set to start in San Francisco, and the eleven racers who signed up for the race gathered. However, with no bridges across the bay, they first ran to the ferry, where they traveled as a group to Sausalito and the race really began (Crockett, 2023).
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Pasadena Star-News, March 31, 1927
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Al Jennings, 1924 Library of Congress
​Al Jennings fired the starting gun, which was an interesting choice because he was a former bank bandit and train robber from Texas and Missouri, who had been sentenced to life in prison in 1899, but was pardoned in 1904 by President Theodore Roosevelt (Crockett, 2023). However, at the time, he was the Mayor of Crescent City, a town along the Redwood Highway (Crockett, 2023).

480 Miles in 7 Days, 12 Hours, & 34 Minutes

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“Sweek-Eagle, Falcon, Rushing Water, Big White Deer, Thunder Cloud, Flying Cloud, Fighting Stag, and Mad Bull all members of The Karuk Tribe” - The San Francisco Call Bulletin, June 9, 1927

Day 1: The Race Begins: Henry "Flying Cloud" Thomas Takes Early Lead

Henry “Flying Cloud” Thomas was the first runner to reach Petaluma after six hours of running, at mile marker 38 (Crockett, 2023). The Petaluma Fire Department set off sirens to let the city know that the first runner had arrived & people crowded the streets and climbed on rooftops to get a good view of the racers (Crockett, 2023). By the end of the day, Henry was holding the lead, reaching Healdsburg, mile 69, by 3:00 AM, where he checked into a hotel to sleep for a few hours (Crockett, 2023).
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Henry "Flying Cloud" Thomas

Day 2: John “Mad Bull” Wesley Southard Takes Lead From Henry “Flying Cloud” Thomas

At 7:30 AM, Henry left Healdsburg with only a four-mile lead on the next runner (Crockett, 2023). Henry was the first to arrive at Geyserville (mile 76) and Cloverdale (mile 86), but John “Mad Bull” Wesley Southard took the lead and was the first to arrive in Hopland (mile 103). (Crockett, 2023).

Day 3: John “Mad Bull” Wesley Southard First to Willits: Wins Ford Automobile

By day three, lack of sleep and exhaustion had taken a toll on the runners (Crockett, 2023). John was the first to arrive in Ukiah (mile 118) (Crockett, 2023). Six hours later, he arrived in Willits (mile 143) and was presented with a cash prize and Ford automobile, but he needed to finish the race in order to claim the winnings (Crockett, 2023).

Day 4: John “Mad Bull” Wesley Southard Holds 12 Mile Lead

At the end of Day 4, John had arrived in Garberville and was holding a 12-mile lead on the next racer (Crockett, 2023). He checked into the Benbow Inn to rest for a few hours, in one of the best suites available (Crockett, 2023).

Day 5: John “Mad Bull” Wesley Southard Arrives in Eureka

John passed through Dyerville (mile 243), now with only a ten-mile lead on second place (Crockett, 2023). At 5:30 PM, he reached Fortuna (mile 276) and pushed on to arrive in Eureka (mile 298) by 11:00 PM, ending the day with a 30-mile lead over the next runners (Crockett, 2023).

Day 6: Arcata Arrival

After the longest he had slept since the race began, John left Eureka and was welcomed in Arcata an hour later by a crowd on the Arcata Plaza cheering him on (Crockett, 2023). Just past noon, John crossed the Klamath River (mile 359) on the Douglas Memorial Bridge (Crockett, 2023). Henry celebrated his 20th birthday by running, closing the gap between him and John to just 14 miles (Crockett, 2023). John arrived in Orick (mile 333) at 10:00 PM but did not stop. He ran another 20 miles before stopping to rest that evening (Crockett, 2023).

Day 7: Henry “Flying Cloud” Thomas Catches Up to John “Mad Bull” Wesley Southard in Crescent City

John continued through Requa (mile 362), maintaining a 15-mile lead on Henry (Crockett, 2023). At 5:17 PM, John passed through Crescent City (mile 382), just 20 miles from the Oregon border (Crockett, 2023). With just 87 miles remaining in the race, John took some time to rest, accidentally allowing Henry to catch up and close the lead (Crockett, 2023). However, Henry needed to rest, and John took this opportunity to reclaim his lead (Crockett, 2023). Henry rested for just a few hours before continuing the mad dash to the finish (Crockett, 2023).

Day 8: The Final Day of The Race

The morning of the 8th day, energy and excitement were growing—the race could be over by the evening (Crockett, 2023). John reached Patrick’s Creek (mile 412) at 5:05 AM, determined to reach Grants Pass by the end of the day (Crockett, 2023). Henry was losing ground and he was slightly sick, but his determination to finish second was undeterred (Crockett, 2023). At 11:00 PM, John crossed into Oregon with only 44 miles remaining in the race he felt the urgency to finish and only stopped for a few minutes to drink a cup of coffee (Crockett, 2023). Around midnight on June 22, 1927, John arrived in Grants Pass to thousands of people out celebrating his middle of the night win (Crockett, 2023). John finished the 480 mile race in 7 days, 12 hours, and 34 minutes—he was just 10 miles ahead of Henry (Crockett, 2023).
John "Mad Bull" slept late into the morning, despite efforts to wake him and reenact his finish in the daytime for pictures (Crockett, 2023). By noon, he was up and was formally presented with his $1325 ($41,983.76 today) prize money, and two hours later, he was the proud owner of a brand new Chrysler with his name “Mad Bull” painted on the side; the car cost him $1050 in cash (Crockett, 2023). John "Mad Bull" drove his new car in the Fourth of July parade in Eureka that year (Crockett, 2023).
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Daytime Reenactment of John “Mad Bull” Wesley Southard Completing the Redwood Highway Marathon, 1927 OregonEncyclopedia.org

Junior Albers
The Best Boxer from the North Coast

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Junior Albers The Clarke Historical Museum Collection
Wilfred “Junior” Albers was born in 1951. He was a Yurok tribal member and grew up in Eureka (K, 2021). He began boxing in the late 1960’s while attending Eureka High School (K, 2021). The 60s and 70s were the heydays of local boxing—amateurs were welcomed into the ring and fights were scheduled several nights a week at local venues.

Junior proved himself as an amateur boxer and caught the eye of local trainer, manager, and promoter, Gene Campbell of the Eureka Boxing Club (located on 5th St in Eureka). Junior quickly became a promising protege (K, 2021). At the peak of his boxing career he was 6 feet tall and 180 lbs (K, 2021). After nine years, Junior decided to turn pro. “...he’d fought close to 180 fights and only lost a small percentage. He had 18 titles, including two Golden Gloves in San Francisco, and was one fight away from Michael Spinks in the 1976 Olympic Trials.” (K, 2021). 

Throughout his boxing career he worked at the Samoa Mill as a load operator and truck driver, going to the gym after work to train (K, 2021). Junior encouraged his younger brother to take up boxing, and the two were regularly scheduled for local fights into the 1980s (K, 2021). Later, Junior opened his own gym, the Albers Boxing Club on 2nd St. (K, 2021). He transitioned into a life of running the gym, raising his family, caring for his classic cars, and riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle (K, 2021). Through his gym, Junior provided a sanctuary for kids who needed a meal and a positive place to release their energy (K, 2021). He would put them in gloves and put them in the ring and teach them how to work out their frustrations and overcome their circumstances (K, 2021). Tragically, Albers died in 1999 at the age of 48 in an accident on his Harley. He is remembered as “the best boxer ever from the North Coast” (K, 2021).
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Kausen, R. (2021, February 4). Junior Albers was a contender. North Coast Journal. https://www.northcoastjournal.com/life-outdoors/junior-albers-was-a-contender-19639006/

Naomi Lang
The First Female Native American Athlete to Compete in The Winter Olympics

Information coming soon!