The girls basketball team at Whitehorse High, a school on a remote part of the Navajo Nation, made it to the Utah championships last year.

But that was with a different coach, a non-Indian who has moved away. So the pressure is on Marrietta Hatathle, a Navajo woman who has always wanted to coach a Native team but has found her first year to be a very difficult one.

Hatathle has had an uphill fight as she tries to keep the team united and focused. Some parents and faculty blame her for a disappointing season. Others reject her because she was raised in a different community.

The Whitehorse Raiders still have a shot at making the championships with a play-in game. "Play as a team, sister and family," Hatathle tells them.

Get the Story:
Whitehorse: A game, a lifeline (The Salt Lake Tribune 10/30)

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