Native American Contributions to Pool

Oh, That's Grady....... NEVERMIND

JAM said:
Let's see who can recognize these pool folk in this snapshot! :D

JAM


Chief Osceola ? That tall skinny one doesn't look like an indian... :)
Doug




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JAM said:
Here's an interesting little story about Gabriel Dumont, a Metis Indian whose pool table was stolen....

I think that table was repatriated to the museum in Batoche, about 40 miles north of Saskatoon, just this summer, iirc (could find no confirmation, but I recall a piece in the local paper). All schools send their grade 5 (5th grade) students on a field trip to this historic area of the Riel Rebellion, maybe soon they will see a large snooker table on display :D

Here in Saskatchewan many of our top players are Cree or Dene or Dakota Sioux. I believe that Glen Cameron, Sask. 9 Ball champ who put on a good showing at the recent 9 Ball National Championships, is Cree. As is my old buddy Fabian Louison (sp?) who beat Earl Strickland in the first round in Calgary some years back (although he did not finish in the money and Earl fought through the B side to a payday :eek: ). There are lots more ... around here it is wise to take any First Nations player seriously or you might find yourself watching a lot of pool.

Some years back the Northern Lights Casino in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada (sometimes I wish I could type 150 wpm ... or even 15 ... whew) held an "annual" tournament. It had reasonable payouts and drew some fine pros (Alex, Archer, Massey come to mind), but they dropped it. When checking on this tournament I was reminded that there are some significant casino-backed tournaments in Minnesota and in the Dakotas, a popular destination for many of our travelling players.

We have more First Nations casinos now with the recent addition of the Dakota Dunes just south of Saskatoon, and hopefully they will consider sponsoring a tournament. The governing body, SIGA (Sask Indian Gaming Authority) is here and several of their senior staff are excellent and active players, and have provided funding to smaller events. Perhaps they will step it up in the future with larger pro events, we can only hope (and drop a few hints on league night ;) )

Some links :

http://www.siga.sk.ca/
http://www.dakotadunes.ca/ - check out the golf course, it's new and very good ... and the pictures show our beautiful prairies :)
http://www.mnbilliards.com/

And thanks JAM for an excellent thread.

Dave
 
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I just moved from WI to TX...This guy Joe Thomas is Indian and promotes tourneys and as you can see on his web site there is a yearly All Indian Tourney.. http://www.sixarrows.org/
Also I go to Tulsa OK and play in the yearly All Indian Tornement at Magoo's sponsered by the Seminoles of Florida Tribe..The place is packed wall to wall!
I watched James Walden play in the event. There are many very good Indian pool players...
 
Wow! Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I enjoyed reading the responses and learning about some great Native American and Indian Country pool players. The links to the casinos that host tournaments are very much appreciated! :)

In my eyes, pool's culture today is conflicted with so many STRONG opinions about what it should look like. The pool purists have strong views on what they believe pool should look like, and then there are others who want pool to have more of an entertainment value a la Minnesota Fats. Because of the variety of pocket billiard games, each one has its own subculture within the culture of pool, much like the variety of Tribes.

Congratulations to the Seminole Tribe of Florida as they are celebrating their 50th anniversary of the signing of its corporate charter and constitution. Under the shade of a historic oak tree, also known as the Council Oak, the tree is one of the most important living historic landmarks of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

Many during the 1950s thought that the Seminole Tribe could not organize because they were small in number and did not have the resources. However, like many Tribes, the Seminoles stepped up to the plate and prevailed in defense of their status as a sovereign nation, a status that they maintained long before the United States existed.

Max Osceola, a Seminole Tribal councilman, said the constitution was a tribal wakeup call for sovereignty and establishing economic independence. ''We now had to make it as a people, on our own terms, and provide for ourselves and future generations,'' said Osceola.

Pool as a sport is desparately not only trying to survive, but many of us pool enthusiasts hope it can elevate in status on the sports ladder in the areas of the world where it pales in comparison to other sports -- MLB, NFL, NBA, PGA, and tennis here in the States, as an example.

Corporate sponsors have come and gone in pool, but Native American and Indian Country Nations are continuing to make a great contribution to our sport; thus, one reason I initiated this thread. I want to pay tribute and give recognition to these great sponsors. I cannot imagine what pool would look like in my corner of the world without them. :)

JAM
 
I saw an obit by Sarah Kershaw in the NY Times today that:

Ralph Sturges, Chief of Mohegan Tribe, Died at 88

She writes:
"Mr. Sturges was among Native American leaders in the 1980s and 1990s who helped bring about a cultural and economic renaissance for fading or lost East Coast Indian tribes."
 
beetle said:
I saw an obit by Sarah Kershaw in the NY Times today that:

Ralph Sturges, Chief of Mohegan Tribe, Died at 88

She writes:
"Mr. Sturges was among Native American leaders in the 1980s and 1990s who helped bring about a cultural and economic renaissance for fading or lost East Coast Indian tribes."

Thanks for the the information. I found this about Ralph Sturges:

Ralph Sturges is one of a long line of Mohegan chiefs since Uncas who have followed his example as a friend of the non-Indian and man of his word. Those values enabled him to serve successfully as a security and intelligence officer in World War II. Ralph became a marble sculptor, a lifelong passion that places him in a long line of great Mohegan carvers who were also chiefs...During the 1980s, Ralph served on the Mohegan Tribal Council and chaired the Burial Committee. Following the death of Courtland Fowler, Ralph was elected Lifetime Chief in 1992. His greatest accomplishment was leading the Mohegans to successfully complete the federal recognition process.

Mohegan Sun sponsors many great pool events. Because of Ralph Sturges' contribution to establish the Mohegans to be a federally recognized Tribe, Mohegan Sun came into existence.

JAM
 

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homeless said:
I just moved from WI to TX...This guy Joe Thomas is Indian and promotes tourneys and as you can see on his web site there is a yearly All Indian Tourney.. http://www.sixarrows.org/
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Joe runs a top-notch tourny. I have been to them and always have had fun.
 
longhair said:
Some friends of mine in Illinois travel to Wisconsin to play in a bar table tournament tour that is held in mostly Indian casinos. Maybe someone else here knows more about it and can give some details.


I think you are thinking of Dean Roeseler. www.drpool.net.

He runs events that have 2 or 3 man handicapped teams.
 
JAM said:
How can I forget Richard Burton a/k/a Rolling Thunder from California. I would love to have a picture of him, and I neglected to take it when I saw him at the U.S. Open a few years ago.

This husky young man has a great sense of humor. Anyone who has met him will know about his infectious laugh. AND he likes action and shows no fear. I really enjoyed meeting him.

Somebody told me that it was Johnny Archer who nicknamed Rolling Thunder as "Richard Burton," but I am not sure if this is just an urban legend.

Richard is good friends with Scott Smith, the world-renown TD, and he came in fifth at the Reno Open a few years ago. So the kid's definitely got game! :)

JAM

I think you mean Richard Burns. He is supposedly a jam up golfer and has a great sense of humor.

Also Mark Tadd is part Native American.
 
JAM said:
Let's see who can recognize these pool folk in this snapshot! :D

JAM

from left to right

Mitchell Cypress, O.B. Osceola, Grady Mathews, David Cypress

where was the picture taken JAM? i'm guessing it was taken at the senior event held in Naples,FL a few years back.
 
Don't forget the venues supplied for the WPBA by Native American tribes. The Viejas Casino near San Diego is run by the Kumeyaay tribe, the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, OR is run by the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians of Oregon, and the Riverwind Casino run by the Chickasaw Tribe.
 
It looks like the Indian Casino's that helped put so many horse and dog tracks out of business and cut into the handle of most of the rest is helping pool in a big way. That takes a lot of the bitterness away for me. Johnnyt
 
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