April 23, 2008

Native boxing network

Fight for survival

Indian boxers looking for bouts"We want to get Native boxers into Native casinos," Ray Hawk commented, "so they can make a living as well as anybody else."

That's one of the primary goals of Native American Warriors Pro-Boxing Network, a relatively new organization based in Fort Thompson on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation.

Lester Thompson Jr., chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, pointed out that NAWPBN is creating economic opportunities for tribal members here and elsewhere and developing a sense of pride for American Indian culture. A number of the fighters are from this reservation in the poorest county in the country, where jobs are scarce and where money earned from boxing can be extremely important. Other boxers are enrolled members of the Ojibwa, Chippewa, Hidatsa, Nez Perce and Mandan nations.
Comment:  Hmm. Should a boxer really be wearing a chief's feather bonnet? Doesn't this diminish or negate the idea that this regalia is sacred or at least special?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would say yes...unless the head dress was given to him or earned in which case it's perfectly acceptable.

dmarks said...

If he has it properly, is the regalia usually worn for sport though?

Rob said...

I wouldn't think so. So we've yet to hear a scenario in which wearing a headdress while boxing is acceptable.