by PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks will host Native American Recognition Day this Saturday at 7:10 p.m. at Chase Field. The D-backs will give away 20,000 D-backs backpacks, courtesy of Gila River Casinos, as fans enter the stadium.
The D-backs are hosting their 17th annual Inter-Tribal Youth Baseball and Softball Tournament from June 17-20, with games played throughout the Salt River Reservation and Tempe. The D-backs are the only MLB club to host an inter-tribal tournament and this year’s tournament features more than 1,000 participants whom represent 27 tribes that hail from five states, including Arizona, California, New Mexico Oklahoma and Mississippi. For a full tournament schedule, visit dbacks.com/intertribal.
The D-backs will recognize more than 30 of Arizona’s Tribal Royalty contingent during a pregame ceremony and 15 traditional song and dance groups will perform throughout the ballpark and on the field before the game. Festivities begin at 5 p.m. and include Native American drum groups, dancers, vocalists, artisans, educational exhibits and more. Monica Sekaquaptewa, from the Navajo and Hopi tribes and recent graduate of Chandler High School, will perform the national anthem and Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
The D-backs will donate $2 from each ticket sold online at dbacks.com/nard to the Phoenix Indian Center and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona.
