Indians and sports

Tribes making inroads in sports industryRalph Sturges has personally encountered two of the greatest Native American athletes in history. He saw Jim Thorpe compete and he has met Billy Mills.

But Sturges, the 88-year-old lifetime chief of the Mohegan tribe of Indians of Connecticut, never thought he'd live to see this: tribal gaming dollars providing health care, education and elderly housing for his people—and a professional women's basketball team providing tribal entertainment.

"We all sit on the edge of our seats," tribal chairman Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum says. "The girls are like part of our family."