Dreamcatchers win Hand Game trophies
Dreamcatchers win Hand Game trophies
The sound of drums filled the cafeteria of the New Town High School on Saturday. The singers’ voices ricocheted off the walls and spurred competitors to victory or defeat in the first Fort Berthold High School Hand Games Championship.
In the five-team, double elimination tournament, the Mandaree Daheu Shibishash (Black Thunder) beat the New Town Lady Eagles in an elimination match to face the undefeated Dreamcatchers from Parshall. The Mandaree team, with one loss, would have to beat the Parshall team twice in order to take home the winner’s trophy. The first match of the final went back and forth with each team on the verge of elimination before the Daheu Shibishash claimed the last stick. But in the final game, the Dreamcatchers – Minnie Two Shields, Averyl Taft, Houston White Bear, and Shauna Cameron – made short work of their opponents to take home the trophies.
According to New Town High School Superintendent Marc Bluestone, the reservation schools had regular hand games tournaments until about 10 years ago. The MHA Nation Education Department sponsored the rejuvenated tournament to bring the tradition back to the schools.
Thirty five students on five teams from New Town, Parshall and Mandaree participated in the inaugural championship. Martha Bird Bear, Sky Robertson, Delvin Driver, Jr., and Charlie Moran acted as supervisors for the teams.
