Book - Native Hoops: The Rise of American Indian Basketball 1895-1970

Indian basketball was born of hard times and hard places, its evolution traceable back to the boarding schools—or “Indian schools”—of the early twentieth century. Davies describes the ways in which the sport, plied as a tool of social control and cultural integration, was adopted and transformed by Native students for their own purposes, ultimately becoming the “Rez ball” that embodies Native American experience, identity, and community. Native Hoops travels the continent, from Alaska to North Carolina, tying the rise of basketball—and Native sports history—to sweeping educational, economic, social, and demographic trends through the course of the twentieth century. Along the way, the book highlights the toils and triumphs of well-known athletes, like Jim Thorpe and the 1904 Fort Shaw girl’s team, even as it brings to light the remarkable accomplishments of those whom history has, until now, left behind.

The first comprehensive history of American Indian basketball, Native Hoops tells a story of hope, achievement, and celebration—a story that reveals the redemptive power of sport and the transcendent spirit of Native culture.

“NATIVE HOOPS” is an exciting new book from Wade Davies. It explores the history of “REZ BALL” or better yet a study of the great teams and players from the Industrial Boarding Schools to local home towns heroes. Basketball got its start at the YMCA where in turn it was introduced to schools such as Carlisle, Haskell, and Chemawa Indian School. Many instructors and superintends were members of the YMCA. At first, basketball started out as mostly a girl’s game. The Fort Shaw girl basketball team went all the way to the 1904 World Fair in St Louis. Be that as it may, there were few sports female students were even permitted to play due to the fact that some school superintendents believed overexcretion from sports could do damage physically and mentally to female students.