Holbrook junior forward Tyler Tapaha joked with his teammates between layups as his team, the Gunnerz, prepared for their first game in the Native American Basketball Invitational on Tuesday at Grand Canyon University’s Canyon Activity Center.
Tapaha is the spirit of his team, made up mostly of family members and other members of indigenous tribes from northern Arizona. Before the game, he mocked his teammates for not making layups.
This team is a brotherhood, just as the entire tournament reflects. Tapaha played for years with his brother, Brandon Tapaha, honing his skills on club teams on the Navajo reservation. His older brother, Jalen Tapaha, who played basketball at Winslow High, is the head coach and leads the Gunnerz group.
“I think maybe it’s in his genes,” Tapaha’s mother, Reshelda Cacaha, said of Tapaha’s love of basketball. “His dad played at Holbrook. Then his brother Jalen played basketball, Brandon played basketball. And now even his little brother plays basketball.
“So it’s just from generation to generation.”
Beginning in 2003, the NABI tournament has been the largest and most prestigious Native American basketball tournament in the United States. It was carefully constructed to unite indigenous communities and uplift their youth; During game week, the organization holds the NABI College Career Fair and the NABI Educational Youth Summit and exposes its athletes to the NABI College Scholarship Fund, which has accumulated more than $450,000 in financial aid since 2003.
Cacaha said the NABI tournament is constantly the talk of the reservation. Everyone wants to be a part of it, whether it’s the kids vying for a chance to compete or the families and supporters, like Cacaha, who hop in the car for the four-hour drive to the Valley.
“Culturally, it keeps everyone together,” said Gunnerz assistant coach Jamie Tapaha. “Basketball is what keeps the Native community motivated; it gives us something to look forward to and it really brings people together. We have a fan base that likes to support us and they show up to support them.”
“And they are parents of children from before, older brothers of children from before. And sometimes they’re not even related to them now, but they like to watch them play.
Tyler Tapaha loves the game. He played nearly the entire contest in his team’s 46-41 victory over the Le Red Bears of Minnesota on Tuesday. In their first intermission, with just under three minutes remaining, the Le Red Bears made it 6-0 to tie the game at 41. After a timeout, Tapaha returned to the court, caught the ball on the other side of the court. court and threw a two-handed pass to his teammate, who then scored the go-ahead and converted free throw 1 to seal the victory.
This sequence of events was not by mistake; it just highlights his identity as a team leader. Tapaha said when he’s on the court to compete, his most important goal is to be efficient as a passer.
“He plays for his brothers,” Jamie Tapaha said. “I think he wants to live up to his name. He’s a true leader; I think that’s what drives him to do his best.”
“He has a fight that I’ve never seen in anyone else, and I think that’s what keeps him going and what’s going to take him to the next level as well.”
Hooping is a path to peace on the reservation and a traditional heritage for the community. It is a constant presence in their rich culture and community and a love that is unlikely to fade.
“Everything is basketball,” Cacaha said. “Every weekend, every day. If they’re not playing in a tournament, they’re out there playing with each other. From the youngest to the oldest.”
This article originally appeared in the Arizona Republic: NABI Tournament at GCU keeps indigenous cultures together
