Nakia Zavalla: Schimmel sisters motivate tribal communities

In case you missed it, these two sisters from the Confederate Tribes of the Umatilla in eastern Oregon became media stars when they helped lead the University of Louisville women’s basketball team to the title game. Along the way, Louisville beat the top-seeded tournament favorite, Baylor, before losing in the championship to the University of Connecticut.

Here in Santa Ynez, and in tribal communities across the country, the success of Jude and Shoni Schimmel was motivating.

As the New York Times put it: “Although basketball has long been the most popular sport on Indian reservations, seldom has that esteem translated into great performance in the highest college and professional ranks. An NCAA study indicated that during the 2011-12 academic year, only 21 women and four men identified as American Indian/Alaska Native participated among the 10,151 basketball players at the Division I level.”

On our reservation, we work to instill the value of a healthy and active lifestyle for our young people, the next generations who will carry on our culture. Being good neighbors, our tribe’s foundation has also supported school, youth and sports programs elsewhere in the county.