More than 4,000 athletes from all over North America have come to the Valley this weekend for the Lori Piestewa National Native American Games in Mesa.
The games are more than just about sports; it is about keeping a name alive and celebrating a culture. They are taking place at the Arizona Athletic Grounds.
“The game was pretty good. It was really good. We met our goal… we were trying to score 85 points this game and we scored 85 exactly,” said Kamyra Goldtooth, a basketball player from New Mexico.
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Thousands of athletes representing 57 different Native American tribes from Canada, the US and Mexico are competing in sports like basketball, volleyball and more for the Piestewa Games.
“We have a record number of athletes in every single sport,” said Nikki Balich, the executive director for the Arizona Sports and Entertainment Commission.
This year, however, the heat is impacting how the games are played outside. For the first time ever, softball players will take the field overnight from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, all to beat the sun.
“The precautions we’re taking: tons more ice, making sure that everybody is hydrated, we’ve got Gatorade and water, cooling towels. And then our whole staff is keenly aware of looking at athletes, seeing if they’re OK,” said Balich.
The games have benefited young athletes for the last 21 years, especially Native Americans. But they are meant to honor the legacy of US Army Specialist Lori Ann Piestewa, the first Native American woman killed in action on foreign soil. She died in 2003 during the Iraq War.
Piestewa’s mother says she could not be more proud of the event.
“We feel that her purpose in life was to bring people together in peace, unity, harmony. And that has happened the whole almost 22 years that she’s been gone,” said Percy Piestewa.
“She really symbolizes how strong and independent we are as Native Americans, and not just Native Americans, but all different types of tribes,” said Goldtooth.
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