The State (Columbia, SC) - June 15, 2007
Ron Morris, Columnist
WHILE ON THE SURFACE it appears Marcus McGill simply wanted to expose four of his Native American students from Montana to a higher level of basketball, their participation this week in Dave Odom's camp goes far beyond that.
For most born and/or reared on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, life seldom leads them beyond the borders of the site's 445,000 acres in southeast Montana. Most are schooled there and remain there to raise their own family. They venture out for the two-hour drive to Billings, where shopping malls and movie theaters expose them to mainstream America.
Otherwise, they face a life certain to include addiction, whether it be to drugs or alcohol. Poverty is generational and has been the way of life for the Cheyenne tribe since the reservation was established in the late 19th century.
McGill, a Columbia native who teaches on the reservation, took a step this week toward changing those patterns. He raised the $5,000 necessary for four of his students to make their first airplane ride, attend an Atlanta Braves game, participate in Odom's camp, make a presentation at Virginia Tech and see their first beaches, near Charleston.
"The biggest thing I want for these guys is to be exposed to different things," says McGill, a Clemson graduate who is studying this summer to earn his master's degree. "We want kids going into the military, going to college. We want kids to go into some sort of certification program in whatever field. We want to make sure they are looking for something to do after high school."
Talon Lonebear is a 12-year-old seventh-grader. Tyrell Emerson is 14 and headed to eighth grade. Arlin Bordeaux is 15 and Theron Adams 14. Both will be ninth-graders this fall. All were selected to make the trip because of their strong academic performances as well as their basketball ability.
Each also was required to raise $150 toward financing the trip. Typical of the bunch was Bordeaux, who branded cattle on his family's ranch until he earned the necessary funds.
Typical also is Lonebear, a wide-eyed youngster who seemed to have more awareness of the world's ways than most high school graduates. He is part Crow, part Cheyenne and part Sioux. He proudly wore a sleeveless T-shirt during Thursday's camp that proclaimed in bold letters across the front, "War Against Meth."
Almost before the conversation got started, Lonebear informed me of the drug problems that afflict his reservation. He recently participated in a 400-mile relay run designed to raise money for reservations across the country and their war against drug abuse.
Lonebear, like his three classmates at the Catholic mission school on the reservation, St. Labre Academy, aspire one day to play in the NBA. At the very least, they all dream of playing basketball in college as a way to further their education. The odds are extremely long, but that is OK with McGill and his fellow teachers at the school.
"What I want them to know is how hard they have to work, and that the chances of that happening are not great," McGill says. "But the chance to play basketball and possibly get a free education exists."
Lonebear is no dummy, though. He has a secondary set of goals that include attending the two-year Chief Dull Knife College, which is located on the reservation. He would like to get certification as an auto mechanic and remain on the reservation with his family.
The fact is most Native Americans do not want to leave the reservation, according to McGill.
"Family is such a huge deal out there," says McGill, who at age 30 returns this fall for his fourth year of teaching as well as coaching basketball. "They want their families to stay near them."
Even those who go off to college often return as soon as immediate family has failing health. St. Labre Academy has one student at Dartmouth and another at Stanford, but those are hardly the norm.
Part of the problem is many Native Americans are leery of American education. McGill says much of their culture has been stolen from them, such as not being allowed to speak their native tongues in schools.
"I'm not sure how many of the kids' grandparents would be happy about me telling their grandkids to leave the reservation," he says.
Despite their concerns about the influences of the outside world, McGill says his students adapted well to their environment during the past week. Odom echoed that.
"It has been a really, really good experience for the entire camp, and hopefully for the kids," says Odom, who helped the cause by knocking down the camp fee for each of the four.
For McGill, the experience was not a one-shot deal. He plans to bring in three or four boys next summer along with three or four girls. The experience, he says, is once in a lifetime, and he hopes one that affects each one for his lifetime.
