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While the boys work with the horses, Dr. John Spence, an elder and consultant to NARA NW, tells them, “You’re getting in tune with another spirit.” (Elyse Wild/Native News Online)
BEAVERTON — On a hot July morning in Beaverton, Oregon, Dr. John Spence stands outside of an equestrian training arena, watching a 15-year-old boy lead a caramel-colored horse around an obstacle course marked by bright orange cones.
Spence, a citizen of the Gros Ventre tribe and tribal consultant for the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest, or NARA NW, is lean and strong at 83 years old. He wears sunglasses, a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and a black T-shirt that reads, “I am worthy.”
The horse swishes its coarse black tail as it walks gently behind the teenager, who is wearing an oversized white hoodie despite the triple-digit heat. Half a dozen other teenage boys stand in the arena, waiting their turn. Some shuffle their feet, their hands shoved in their pockets. A 16-year-old wearing long basketball shorts, a wide-brimmed baseball hat over his dark curls, and tattoos on his forearms calls out, “Nice job, man.”
Spence leans forward, his smile widening.
“Look at that,” Spence says quietly. “The…
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The 56th annual Native Youth Olympic (NYO) Games Alaska kicked off on Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center, bringing together athletes from across the state to compete in traditional Native games.
This week in Anchorage, 50 teams representing over 100 communities are participating in the Senior Native Youth Olympics, with nearly 400 athletes competing in 11 games through Saturday.
The 56th annual Native Youth Olympic (NYO) Games Alaska kicked off on Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center.(Jeremy Kashatok/Alaska's News Source)Thursday’s competition started with the toe kick, followed by the wrist carry and the Alaskan high kick.
The toe kick is often considered the most challenging event in Native sports, according to Nicole Johnson, NYO Games Alaska head official.
“This is one of the games where you can either do it or you can’t,” Johnson explained. “It’s not a game that you can really self-teach yourself.”
The game tests athletes’ concentration, agility and coordination as they jump, tap a stick on the ground and land in front of it on their feet.
The toe kick, Johnson said, symbolizes jumping from ice flow to ice flow in Alaska’s far north.
“If you’re on a piece of…