Montana Indian Athletic Hall Of Fame Honors Area Legends

Some of the top athletes in the history of the Fort Peck Reservation were honored during the plaque distribution held by the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, April 29.

Plaques were presented to previous hall of fame inductees or their families during the event held in Poplar. The plaques were available now due to the support of sponsors.

The legendary athletes or their families receiving the plaques were Phillip Red Eagle, Louie Longee, Willie Weeks, Bill Smith, Bob Lowry, Bob Parsley, Mike Granbois, Dana Kirn, the 1936 Brockton Warrior Bighorn brothers Leonard, Ernie and Alpheus and the 1974-1975 Poplar back-to-back boys’ basketball championship teams.

“We wanted to start the hall of fame to recognize our athletes to lift us up,” Donnie Wetzel Jr., CEO of the hall of fame, said. “We wanted to do something to life our athletes again.”

Wetzel added, “Some might not be with us anymore, but their memory lives on.”

Individuals, who were inducted between 2016-2020, were also saluted during the ceremony. Those athletes included Kayla Lambert, Victor Bearskin, Spike Bighorn, Sam McCracken, Felix T. Mc-Gowan, Ken Smoker Jr., Jack Manning, John Weeks and Joe Bergie.

Special recognition for the contributions made by Thomas R. Escarcega Sr. also took place.

Wetzel stressed the importance of younger generations to remember the Native American legends. He mentioned possibly having a hall of fame in Poplar. He mentioned that students from Poplar were doing videos throughout the night.

“We always want to link our youth with our legends,” Wetzel said.