A class of its own
The Kahnawake Junior B Hunters. Courtesy North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame
The accolades have kept rolling in for the Kahnawake Junior B Hunters, as the 2025 team prepares to be inducted as part of the upcoming class for the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (NAIAHF) to recognize their Founder’s Cup victory.
“I feel really good about it, honoured, and it feels good for Kahnawake also,” said Hunters team owner Derek Stacey, who is already a member of the Akwesasne Hall of Fame as a player.
“We all earned it together as a team and a community. I’m just excited about it.”
The NAIAHF sent an email to Stacey to tell him that the Hunters would be nominated for the hall.
The one catch was, it was to a secondary email address, one he does not check regularly.
“I almost missed it,” he said, adding that he had just happened to be going through that address’s backlog when he noticed the NAIAHF’s acceptance email a mere two days before the deadline to respond.
“It’s surprising. I didn’t think we would be inducted, but when I got the word, I was thrilled for our whole organization,” said Stacey.
He said he will try to attend the Hall of Fame ceremony because it will be a recognition the scope of which he has never experienced before.
The day’s events, which will be held at the Oneida Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on May 30 will include the inductions, a smudge ceremony to open the day, and smoke dancers from the Oneida Nation, to name a few highlights.
The Hunters will be inducted as part of a particularly large class this year, especially in terms of teams.
Brandon Montour. Courtesy North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame
That includes multiple Haudenosaunee Nationals teams, including the 2025 Pan-American Lacrosse Association (PALA) men’s team that won gold with Trey Deere, Koleton Marquis, Dalton Kane, and Teharonhieorens McComber on the roster; the U15 International Indoor Junior Lacrosse World Championship-winning team with Darris Jones, Chaz Norton, Shakononhkwahtsheronniennis Rice, and Shatekaienthon Van Dommelen on the roster; the 1980 Can Am Warriors who were finalists in the first attempt to hold a World Box Lacrosse Championship; and the 1992 and 2007 Minto Cup-winning Six Nations Arrows teams.
Carey Terrance. Courtesy North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame
“The Haudenosaunee Nationals could have a hall of fame just by themselves. The historical and cultural connections of training and competing at an elite level are an exemplary model for all to follow,” said NAIAHF founder and co-director Dr. Dan Ninham, himself a member of the Oneida Nation.
Kim Squire. Courtesy North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame
Other Kanien’kehá:ka inductees this year include Stanley Cup champion defender Brandon Montour; World Juniors gold medalist and New York Rangers prospect Carey Terrance; and longtime National Lacrosse League players Cory Bomberry (235 goals and 419 assists in 183 regular season games) and Kim Squire (112-107 in 80 games).
Cory Bomberry. Courtesy North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame
The recently traded Calgary Flames defender Zach Whitecloud is also being inducted as part of this year’s class.
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What is different from many other halls of fame is that many inductees are still competing at the time of their induction into the NAIAHF, as opposed to waiting for their careers to be over.
“One of the reasons we started this initiative was for Indigenous people in general to be aware of elite individuals and teams that have achieved at a high national, provincial, amateur, professional, and/or international level, and to inspire others that they may do it too,” said Ninham.
Ninham founded the NAIAHF in 2022, and it’s continuing to grow, with no sign of a shortage of worthy candidates in the future.
“There are an immense number of Indigenous individuals and teams just in Canada and the United States. We talk about them being the elite of the elite, and we strive to find them and recognize them,” said Ninham.
