Wisconsin tribal athletes at the North American Indigenous Games are returning home with 56 medals.
The games are an Olympic-style event.
Athletes spent the last 10 days in Halifax, Canada representing their tribes, state, and country.
Before the North American Indigenous Games even started, Tristan Rainey, 16, says he was humbled by the experience.
“In the first tryouts, we were in Black River Falls. It was really exciting seeing all the people there, seeing the talent that was there, especially as a Native. I haven’t been able to see a lot of Natives play the sport that I love. Seeing all the Natives there playing and trying out for the same team was really cool. It was heartwarming,” said Rainey.
Rainey is a Lac du Flambeau Tribal Member who made the Wisconsin baseball team which is made up of players 19 years old and under from different tribes in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin was the third seed going into the quarterfinals on Thursday playing Eastern Door and the North, the team representing Quebec First Nations and Inuit.
After winning that game, Wisconsin took on Saskatchewan in the semi-finals.
“That was just a dog fight. Going into the game, we had energy and we just never lost it since the first inning. We played our heart out and left it out on the field,” said Rainey.
That led to Friday’s championship game for the gold against the number one seed Manitoba.
“I feel like after those four games, our energy was there, but we were drained. We left it all out on the field. It just wasn’t enough,” said Rainey.
Wisconsin lost the gold to Manitoba, but Rainey and the rest of the team are still bringing home the silver.
For Rainey, the best part of this experience was bonding with his team.
“The connection we built as a team, I can’t even put it into words. It’s been really amazing getting to know these guys. I feel like they’re my brothers right now. I’ve never played for a team like this. I really love them. The chemistry that we’ve got right now. I think it’s the best we’ve had,” he said.
It’s an experience Rainey hopes inspires the generations of Lac du Flambeau Tribal athletes to try out for the next games in four years.
“The more we do that, the more we put our Tribe out there the more we put the names of Natives in our tribe out there as well,” said Rainey.
Lac du Flambeau had 14 tribal members competing.
Team Wisconsin was made up of nearly 250 athletes from the 11 federally recognized tribes in the state.
It’s the largest U.S. team at the games.
Lac du Flambeau is hosting a welcome home feast for the athletes this Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Youth Center.
Audio from the games is courtesy of the North American Indigenous Games.
