Thousands descend on Tucson for National Native Games

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TUCSON (KVOA) – More than 2,000 young athletes and their families are here in Tucson for a sporty and athletic weekend that will stay with these young men and women long after their last shots.

Lenny Esson trains a few Native American boys and girls teams out and about in Tucson and a new neighborhood.

“Oh man. A lot of our kids and newbies look up to this topic because it gives them the opportunity to see what an off-reserve competition is like in our community, but also to be able to travel, the opportunity.” To have the great state of Arizona, now it’s our first time here in Tucson, “said Esson.

Youth sports teams meet for the Lori Piestewa National Native Games. Dozens of teams get a taste of competing in different sports.

Lori Piestewa was the first Indian woman to die in combat in 2003. She was on the battlefield in Iraq.

Piestewa was from Tuba City in northern Arizona.

This weekend the games will be played in honor of Piestewa. In the Westward Look, girls and boys competed in a wrestling tournament.

“This is a good time for them to meet and meet other children, learn to deal with them, be respectful, learn how to win well and how to lose well,” said Candice Abernathy, a parent.

“It’s a big deal for these kids, it’s a great study lesson and an important tool for them as they get older, to cope with the ups and downs of losing, winning and dealing with it all and life goes on”, said Marcellius Begaye.

This is not a weekend where most of the attention is focused on the result or the clock, but rather on the life lessons these kids will be taking with them long after they leave the gym.

“Just the amount of work it took to get here, financially and then to get the job done,” Esson said. “To play in other tournaments before this point in time to find this cohesion.”

The National Native Games ended on Sunday.

More information about the tournament and the basketball schedule can be found here

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