Red Cloud at the 39th Annual Lakota Nation Invitational
posted December 21, 2015
Winter storm Echo—dumping nearly a foot of snow in the region—did not put a damper on this year's 39th Annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI), a tournament of the mind and body. This year's LNI challenged our students and athletes to test their limits. Below are the results from this year's events. Our congratulations go out to all the student-athletes who participated with outstanding effort.
RESULTS:
Basketball:
Girls - 6th Place
Awards:
All Tournament - Schaevon '16
Most 3’s - Leannah '16
Boys - 5th Place
Awards:
All Tournament - Kobey '16
Most 3’s - Terrell '16
Cheerleading:
1st Place, 7th year in a row
Awards:
All Tournament - Jacob '16 & Kayla '16
Lakota Language Bowl:
Maȟpiya Lúta I - 2nd Place
Maȟpia Lúta II - 1st Place
Middle School - 2nd Place
Archery:
Girls Barebow:
MeKyla '18 - 1st Place
Leila '19 - 2nd Place
Chanda '17 - 3rd Place
Boys Barebow:
Stevie '17 - 2nd Place
Dylan '19 - 4th Place
Boys Traditional:
Talon '18 - 1st Place
Poetry Slam:
Marcus '17 - 1st Place
Ohitika '18 - 2nd Place
Business Competition:
Darien '16- 1st Place
Art Show:
4th Place Overall
Wrestling:
Dylan '16 - 1st Place 160lb Weight Class
Team - 4th Place Overall
Honorings:
Red Cloud Indian School Counselors honored by Tribal Education Director
- Br. Joe Fleischman, Alicia Adams, Madeline Ortego, Ethleen Cournoyer
Public Service Award:
Boyd Ferguson, Maintenance and Bus Driver, OLL, 23 years of service
History
In 1977, many non-reservation high schools would not host or play Native American teams. That year the first All-Indian Tournament was formed; a basketball competition on the Pine Ridge Reservation that would allow Native teams across western South Dakota to showcase their talent.
In just a few years, the event became a tremendous source of pride for Native youth and communities across the region and it moved to Rapid City in 1979 to accommodate rising numbers of participants, families and fans.
It was renamed the Lakota Nation Invitational in 1987, and today it engages teams from more than 15 high schools in Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. From its small beginnings, LNI has grown into a four-day event that brings together more than 2,500 student-athletes from on and off the reservation to compete in sports from wrestling to archery.
And today, LNI is about more than athletics. LNI also includes contests in art, Lakota language, and knowledge, as well as educational conferences, a business plan competition for aspiring entrepreneurs and a poetry slam to inspire Native youth to create original narratives about life on and off the reservation.
READ MORE!
Photo by Sean Ryan, Rapid City Journal