Alaska Native Athlete Demonstrates Traditional Indigenous Games in Bemidji

Northern Indigenous Games, an organization run by former Cass Lake-Bena and Bemidji boys’ basketball head coach Dan Ninham and his wife Susan, is intended to broaden and inform people of the holistic concept of how and why you play games that relate to Indigenous culture. On Sunday, the organization invited Alaskan-born Bernard Clark to Bemidji to share traditional games from Alaska.

Clark is of the Koyukon Athabaskan bloodline and is a world record holder in the “One Hand Reach” and “Swing Kick” competitions. He has won several other medals at the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in Fairbanks, Alaska. In addition, he is a 2025 inductee into North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.

Those in attendance for his show didn’t just learn how to play the games—they also learned the story behind why the games are important in Alaskan culture.

“If we want something to survive, we need to bring it and make it rich for somebody else,” Clark said. “I hope everyone here enjoyed the show. So us sharing that kind of history is is how we keep the games alive.”

He continued, “It’s a feeling like no other when I can successfully do it for people and then people want to try it, and now you have something to share. It’s not just that, though. You got to see some of the survival techniques. You got to have a taste of the culture. And that, I think, is priceless. Sharing a priceless gift with somebody else is what we’re supposed to do, and I stand behind that.”

More community nights hosted by Northern Indigenous Games will be held at:

• Bagley High School – Monday, September 22
• Circle of Life Academy, White Earth – Tuesday, September 23
• Naytahwaush Community Charter School – Wednesday, September 24 and Thursday, September 25
• Pine Point School, Ponsford – Friday, September 26

Northern Indigenous Games has been around for five years and plans to continue sharing the culture around games. To learn more, you can search “Northern Indigenous Games” on Facebook.